Blitzball', 'Whatever'
by Gunblade Girl
Summary: FFVIII/X Sequel to "Whatever... You're such a pain!" a fanfic involving me and my friends with FF8 people. In this one, we're trapped in Spira, trying to go back home, but we're not the only ones! The main FFX story rolls as well!
1. Prologue: Peace is further ahead

Note: Warning!! This is a sequel to a FF8 fic I wrote called 'Whatever...', 'You're such a pain!' In which I placed myself, friends and family. If you don't like that sort of thing then BEGONE! I'm sorry if I sound rude but I had it with darn f***ing flames!!!! 

**If you're still interrested, I highly suggest you read the prequel first so you'll understand better.**

**Back again with a 14th fanfic!! But this one wasn't in my list of fanfics to write until recently... Someone suggested me to do it and I just couldn't resist the idea... This is for you Ruby Dragon!!**

**This one will include FFX! How come? Read it! I'm in there also! With new friends! I suggest you first read the prequel, you might enjoy it!! This story starts when Tidus appears in Besaid so that makes this fic a twisted version of FFX. I hope it goes well!!**

**'Blitzball?', '... Whatever...'**

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Prologue: Peace is further ahead 

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            I don't know why I decided to write this down... Maybe because I didn't want it to be lost because of the GFs... I'm Carole Marceau, Squall Leonhart's wife. I'm mostly known by this title but I'm also known as the commander of SeeD since Squall became headmaster. I'm also known as one of the SeeD who kicked the Renegades butt! That which is known as The Great Battle in our records happened ten years ago. That battle which nearly cost me my love...

_            But what I'm about to tell happened after that. Not much people know about it... Only those who were there. That includes me, Squall, my friends and his. We don't talk much about that time because it's still painful to us... But I still don't want it to be lost so here comes what I would call 'my story'... But I'm not talking about me, I mean someone else who struggled to go back home just like we did... and failed. This story starts ten years ago. A week after The Great Battle, there was a party where Squall proposed to me. He didn't want to take the risk of seeing me leave his side again. This story starts the day after as everyone was getting excited with the recent events..._

            In the cafeteria, everyone was laughing around the soon-to-be-married couple. A girl dressed in tight leather clothing with a short jacket tied on the bottom over a top was smiling widely with joy at her friends. An asian girl wearing the SeeD uniform was hopping around her.

            "Carole-chan's getting married! Carole-chan's getting married!" she kept chanting with excitement.

            "Come on, Mia-chan! Stop it!" Carole giggled.

            She pushed her long brown curly hair back. When she only was a candidate, she used to keep them tied in a ponytail and wear the Candidate's uniform along with glasses which made her look like a real nerd. Now that she was a SeeD, she decided to wear what she wanted: something like Squall.

            The young man placed an arm around her shoulders and stole a light kiss from her soft lips. She smiled lovingly at him. The past night was the happiest of her life. The first one was the day Squall told her he shared her feelings on the beach outside Balamb town at night. It was the memory she treasured most. But just thinking she would be his wife was almost overwhelming.

            "There's so much to do!!" Selphie exclaimed writing notes on a pad.

            The short brown haired girl decided to take care of everything for the wedding. She wanted it to be grand! Something people would remember. Squall and Carole were a little embarrased about it but she was so enthusiastic and serious about it, it was almost a shame to tell her not to do it.

            She has been carrying a pad around since then to write everything she could think would be needed.

            "Come on, Sephie, drop it for a sec," Irvine said.

            With his cowboy outfit, his brown hair tied in a ponytail, and his 6'0", Irvine could get all the girls he wanted but he set his choice on one, his childhood love: Selphie.

            "I can't!" Selphie answered him. "I only have two months!"

            "It's more than enough!" Quistis exclaimed with a giggle.

            The blond haired girl was once Squall's instructor.

            "Someone stop her!" Seifer exclaimed. "She'll have Garden turned upside down for this thing!"

            "Why were you so eager to do it, Squall?" Audrey asked.

            She was Carole's friend and Seifer's girlfriend. Also a member of the disciplinary committee.

            "They told you already!" Rachel, Carole's sister interfered. "Squall wants to keep her chained to him forever!"

            "Ha! I think they're too young for that," Zell commented.

            He was Rachel's boyfriend.

            "According to you, anyone's too young to do anything!" Gackt cut in.

            He was Squall's best friend since he entered Garden. He was also Miaka's boyfriend.

            "What do you mean?"

            "Don't you know they already had it?"

            Squall and Carole blushed while everyone else stared at them with wide eyes, including Rinoa, Adam, her new boyfriend, and Dave, his cousin and Quistis' boyfriend.

            "What?" Rachel exclaimed looking at her sister.

            They had it the night before the Great Battle. Carole had been suffering from the side effects of a truth serum invented by Odine which got her blind and deaf for 2 months. But the day after they had it, she was healed. Coincidence or...?

            "You couldn't even wait to be married?" a voice asked from behind them.

            Everyone looked around to see Laguna standing behind them with a wide smile. He waved.

            "Hey guys!"

            "Sir Laguna!" Selphie exclaimed with delight.

            "Father!" Squall said getting up.

            He took Laguna's hand extended to him.

            "Congratulations," Laguna said before turning to Carole. "That makes you my daughter-in-law."

            "Well, not yet..." Carole said blushing.

            "Close enough," Laguna said with a smile. "Whacha guys up to?"

            "Get everything ready for the wedding!" Selphie said scribling more notes on her pad.

            "Drop that!" Irvine said taking that off her hands.

            "Irvy! Give it back!"

            Since Selphie was small and Irvine pretty tall, he didn't have trouble keeping it out off her reach. Until she decided to climb him up like a mountain.

            "Ow! Okay, okay!" he said giving up.

            He handed it back to her and she pressed it against her chest like it was some kind of treasure. Then she stuck her tongue at him and wrote something.

            "Irvine's clothing," she said outloud. "Nothing! He'll walk around naked saying: 'I'm a dork!'"

            Everyone laughed full heartedly, even Irvine.

            Adam got up from his seat and walked to Carole. He and her were best friends for a long time. Since she worked on the Lunar Base with him years ago...

            "You seem strange. You grew up."

            "Well, lose the one you love and we'll talk about it again."

            Adam bit his lips. That's right, a week ago, she really lost Squall. The leader of the Renegades was down but not dead and gave Squall a final blow which killed him. But dragged to the battlefield with the remains of the link she once shared with Squall, Rinoa restored his body, but she no longer had the power to call him back since he was no longer her knight. Carole did it. With the strength of her love for him, he came back.

            Adam simply nodded, knowing the memory was painful for her.

            "Hey, since when are you wearing Squall's necklace?"

            She looked at her chest and took the Griever in her hand. 

            "Since yesterday. Squall said I should wear it so I would never forget him whatever happens... But I think it's just because he's sweet. He said it's in case we get seperated. He'll look for it however long it might take. Heheh, I think it's just an excuse."

            "I think so too. And he got yours?"

            She turned to her future husband and saw her own necklace dangling on his chest with each move he made. A silver eagle she received when she was sick. When she went to fight the leader of the Renegades, pretending to be the leader to protect him, she gave it to him and as he was dying, he gave her his. But after, they got them back until the last night.

            Her eyes were shining with love. _Yes, _Adam thought. _This is definately the man for her. He'll protect her with his life._

            Squall was talking with Laguna and smiling. He was in good terms with his father. They made up for the past years and it occured that Squall really liked Laguna. It does seem that people change over the years.

            Rinoa was looking at all that with a smile but she had trouble feeling honest about it. Squall was once her Knight, sworn to protect her. But she ditched him for Adam. She was to blame. She loved Adam a lot and never regreted meeting him. Maybe she just regreted she didn't meet him before she'd fall for Squall.

            Dave joined in. He was a fine young man with long brown hair tied in a ponytail. He had glasses and was wearing chinese-like clothing, like a martial artist. But the thing is he was using a sword for weapon, a japanese curved up sword, a katana.

            "Are you sure everything will be ready in two months? It's kinda short," he said.

            "It will if I get some help!" Selphie exclaimed glancing around.

            Laguna said they could always hold it in Esthar since it was big and all, but everyone thought it wasn't such a good idea. With all the monsters roaming around Esthar since the Lunar Cry, Squall and Carole would keep their gunblades under their wedding clothes and just throw everything away to go fight them. Everyone giggled but knew it was true.

            But it seemed that it would have to wait...

            "Commander! Commander!!!" someone called.

            Everyone shut up and looked at the entrance of the cafeteria as a SeeD was running towards Squall and company with fright on his face.

            "What's wrong?" Squall asked with a worried frown.

            "S...something appeared... out Garden... energy..."

            "Wow, calm down first would you? I don't understand a thing!"

            The SeeD tried to catch his breath quickly then spoke up with the same fear on his face.

            "Right outside Garden... There's an unknown energy field!"

            "Where?"

            "Where the fight was held."

            "Go back there and have a security perimeter delimited. I don't want anyone near this thing until we know what it is! I'm coming right away!"

            "Already done, sir! Nida had it done by the time I got here!"

            "Good. Tell him I'm coming right away."

            The SeeD left and Squall started leaving after him and noticed he was being followed. He turned around and had an amused smile seeing that actually everyone was following him.

            "What are you doing?" he asked unable to bury a laugh at the sight.

            "What else, stupid?" Zell asked placing a hand on his hip. "We're coming along!"

            "You don't have to..." Squall started.

            But it was obvious everyone was curious about this. Selphie even dropped her tab and Laguna seemed curious.

            Carole stepped forward.

            "Are we going or just standing here?"

            Squall shrugged and sighed.

            "Alright then, let's go investigate."

            Everyone was curious but most of them were scared deep inside. Scared that something would happen... again. First Ultimecia, then the Renegades, then what? Even when they'd get married, Carole knew they wouldn't be at peace unless they quit SeeD but she always wanted to be a SeeD so if she'd quit, what else would she do? That was the same for Squall.

            When they stepped outside Garden, they could all feel there was something in the air. Something heavy, somewhat threatening. 

            They walked to the place and saw a bunch of SeeDs and candidates standing there with curiosity. A fence was placed around the area. They had to break through the crowd and when they made it to the center, they were shocked. On the ground, there was some kind of a pond but the content was not water. It was switching colors. Red, purple, blue, white with other colors inside similar to waves. It was moving like waves but only horizontally, not up and down. All moving in the pond and nowhere else. The waves seemed to lose themselves in the grass but it wasn't going anywhere. It was a strong energy.

            Squall past over the fence and to Nida standing next to it.

            "What is that thing?" Squall asked in a whisper.

            "Beats me," Nida answered.

            "Powerful energy," Rinoa said as she approached. "I can't figure out who could have done it though..."

            "Some soldier from the battle might have put that here?" Dave suggested.

            "No, it would have been triggered before," Quistis said taking her chin in her hand.

            "I guess so..."

            Carole felt a chill up her spine. Since her illness, she seemed to have developped a sharp sixth sense about this kind of things. It proved itself useful during battles but right now she wished it wouldn't be so sharp.

            "Nida, tell the headmaster about this," Squall ordered.

            "Yes, sir!"

            Nida left, leaving only Squall's gang around the mysterious energy pond.

            Carole grabbed his sleeve, making him look at her.

            "What's wrong?"

            "I don't like this... We should leave it there... Please, let's go!"

            "Carole?"

            Miaka decided to trust her friend's instinct and pulled Gackt on the other side of the fence. Laguna was already there, thinking it wasn't his business.

            Through the crowd, a young girl had come to see what was happening. She was curious but also shy surrounded with so many people, but no one seemed to pay attention to her.

            Zell had crouched down to the pond.

            "Zell, get away from that!" Carole exclaimed.

            "Why?" he asked turning to her. "I didn't touch it."

            "Seriously, let's lock this thing off and go!!"

            Squall never saw her like that so he decided to trust her instincts.

            "Alright."

As he started dragging his gang away, the pond seemed to start boiling. Some witnesses were screaming as the substance was coming up like a monster. Squall, Carole and everyone who had a weapon took it.

            "What the hell?!" Zell exclaimed.

            It was just moving like jelly. Everyone stood on guard, just in case. All of a sudden, the jelly grew even bigger and spread like a giant towell. The SeeDs were astonished.

            "What the fuck?" Rachel said.

            The other SeeDs started panicking and run around like crazy. The little girl was pushed over the fence in the turmoil.

            "Ouch!"

            The giant towell of energy suddenly lowered at incredible speed and covered everyone inside the fence perimeter. Screams could be heard from under it.

            "Carole-chan!! Squall-san!" Miaka exclaimed with high fear.

            "Squall!" Laguna yelled.

            "Everyone!" Gackt screamed along.

            The energy field suddenly seemed to melt down and disappeared completely, along with everyone that was under.

            Miaka fell on her knees, shocked. Gackt's eyes couldn't move off the spot where everyone vanished and it seemed that Laguna's mind was shut off.

            "Iie... Minna..." Miaka said with a low trembling voice.

            "IIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

            All those who were under the energy field: Squall, Carole, Zell, Rachel, Quistis, Dave, Rinoa, Adam, Seifer, Audrey, Selphie, Irvine and a little girl no one knew because she just registered in Garden, were gone. Were they even alive? Who could know? Everything seemed to show they were dead, eaten by this thing, whatever it was... Everyone would think they were dead except Miaka, Gackt and Laguna. They refused to believe it. This thing was energy so it couldn't have eaten them. Maybe more like transport them somewhere else. But where?

            Meanwhile, in a world that couldn't be qualified as existing for it was the place where all worlds meet, someone was smiling. 

            "I think I'm gonna have plenty of fun with these people..."

Note: Miaka speaks a lot in japanese so here's what she actually said 

**            Iie – No**

**            Minna – Everyone**

**            So? How was it? As I first wrote it, I thought it might have been confusing but I read it and then thought it's not so bad... Wanna know the rest? Look for my next chapters! While you wait, drop by my profile to read my other fanfics because I warn you: this story's probably gonna be long!**

**I want to remind people that I already said this fic includes me, friends and family and that I won't accept reviews saying that kinda thing is bad because I warned you, fair and square! I accept flames but only if they have some kind of purpose to help me improve my writings. Every bad anonymous reviews will be removed! And the signed ones will receive a reply! Thanks for reading! Review please!!**


	2. Chapter 1: Another world?

Chapter 1 : Another world?

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            In the sea close to a small island, just by the shore, a young blond haired man was drifting face down, uncounscious. After everything he went through, it was a miracle he was still alive. As a blitzball player, he was used to stay in water for a long time but actually, he's been there for a while and his lungs started to show signs of need for air which brought him back to his senses. He opened his eyes and coughed then brought his head up to breath. He moved his arms around to stay on the surface and quickly looked around, wondering where he ended up to now when something hit the back of his head, causing it to go underwater again. He quickly looked around and spotted a familiar blue and white ball floating next to him. He grabbed it.

            "Blitzball!!" he exclaimed with delight.

            Then he looked up to the shore and saw 6 people standing there, apparently all wearing the same yellow colored overalls. He was still a little dizzy from the bump on his head but he could still see a a red headed guy waving at him. He had his hair up in the air.

            "Hey! You okay?" he asked in a typical island accent.

            "Heeeeey!!" The young man waved back.

            He was happy to finally see something friendly and familiar in this place.

            He left the ball floating there and dived. Then he swam back to the surface and hit the ball with the top of his head, sending it in the air. Then with a backflip, he kicked it towards the beach at incredible speed. The red headed guy traced it coming with his buddies but something else caught his attention. Something strange was happening right over the young man's head. A hole was opening right in the sky. A strange hole, sending strange energy waves around. It was covered with blue and white strands, waving into different colors, red, purple... The 6 were staring at the strange phenomenon. The blond young man was wondering what they were staring at when suddenly...

            "Waaaah!!!" someone screamed.

            Six people came out from the hole and into the water right where the young man was.

            _Splash! Splash!_

The shock of being swallowed in that thing whatever it was, was replaced by a need for air. Carole couldn't see anything, just that she was underwater after falling out of nowhere. She only caught a glimpse of other people falling with her, then water and bubbles all around, probably made by other people swimming around and trying to get to the surface. 

            She felt like she was weighting a ton. Something was dragging her to the bottom and she was afraid she knew what: her gunblade. And her leather clothes weren't helping.

            Since she was used to use it for fighting, she wasn't noticing it's weight anymore, but swimming with it was another story. She couldn't just drop it, it was everything to her. She tried her best to swim to the surface but she was moving too slowly. Her lungs were on fire and her head was aching from the lack of oxygen. 

            _I'm gonna die? No! I don't want to! Squall!_

She felt soemthing grab her arm and pull her. Realizing someone was trying to help her, she tried to give all the strength she had left to get to the surface. It seemed it would take forever to reach it when she finally felt the coolness of fresh air on her skin. She took a long and deep breath. She never realized air tasted so good until now. She turned her head and saw an unnexpected face but still familiar. And she was glad to see it.

            "You alright?" Dave asked.

            "Yeah... Thanks, I thought I was a goner!"

            "Where the Hell are we?!" Zell's angry voice asked.

            "Let's get ashore first!" Carole said seeing five people swimming around her. 

            She didn't take the time to notice who it was but she still had time to see a lot were missing.

            A splashing sound was heard when another head broke the surface, unfamiliar this time.

            "Hey, what's the big idea?" the blond headed guy asked.

            "Can we talk about this on firm ground?" Rachel plead.

            "Right, let's go!"

            Seven teenagers swam towards the beach where six people were waiting, curious about this turn of event. First the blond guy floating around, then those people falling out of nowhere.

            Once they stepped on the sand, Zell and Rachel collapsed. Carole kneeled down to catch her breath, just like Adam by her side. Dave placed his hands on his knees and a bit aside of them, a little girl Carole was seeing for the first time was shaking the water off her clothes.

            "Who are y'all?" the red headed guy asked.

            Carole grabbed her long hair and squeezed it from the water, ignoring the question. Then she shook it back.

            "Damn! I hate when that happens... Everyone alright?"

            She finally took the time to look around.

            "I'll live," Rachel said coughing a little.

            "I hate water," Zell grumbled.

            "I'm okay," Dave commented.

            "Alright," Adam added.

            "I guess so..." the little girl shyly said.

            Six of them... only six... but she was sure they were all in there when it wrapped around them. And she could have sworn Squall held her before everything went black. Where was he? And everyone else?

            With fear, she walked to the red headed guy.

            "I'm Carole, a SeeD from Balamb Garden."

            She introduced her friends who all nodded at their names.

            "Where are we?"

            "This here's Besaid Island. I'm Wakka, captain of the Besaid Aurochs. What do you mean a 'garden' and 'seed'? You wanna grow flowers or somethin'?"

            That was like she feared. She studied a lot of the world and this place was completely new.

            "I don't know what happened to us, but this is not our world. I'm confused."

            "Hey, you can come with us to Besaid, maybe you can find something you know, ya?"

            He seemed like a good guy so she decided to trust him. Then he seemed to get an interest in the blond guy.

            "You play blitzball? Which team you play for?"

            "The Zanarkand Abes!"

            Wakka and his teammates suddenly showed strange faces. Carole wished she knew why.

            "What team did you say again?"

            "Huh, I mean... forget that! I've been too close to Sin and... my head's all fuzzy like..."

            She didn't know why, but that didn't sound honest to her. 

            The team did some kind of salute at the mention of Sin, whatever it was.

            Blitzball? Zanarkand? Besaid? Sin? What was that?? Since they seemed busy in a conversation, she decided to turn to the little girl who seemed to have unwillingly joined their little party. She just had time to hear the blond guy introduce himself as Tidus.

            "Hey, you... What's your name?" Carole asked with a warm smile.

            Used with her two little brothers, Carole really had it with children. She thought that if she could take her brothers' crazy behaviour, anyone else would be an angel!

            The little girl looked shyly at the others. She seemed embarrased.

            "I'm Kerry Ann Gornall... I... I just registered in Balamb Garden and... someone pushed me over the fence..."

            "I see... Well stay close to me, Kerry!"

            Since she was the only one who seemed to care about her, Kerry nodded.

            It seemed that they were all as clueless as she was, even that Tidus guy but she was sure she never saw him before. Who was he?

            It seemed he was done talking when Wakka asked him to kick the ball he was holding. Tidus hit it with his forehead then backfliped to kick it across the water.

            "Whoa!!" Zell exclaimed. "That was awesome!"

            "That sure was! Excuse me, Wakka, but have you seen other people that might have fell from the sky like we did? Probably seven more of us?"

            "Nope! I've been here practicing with my team and I didn't see anyone, ya?"

            His team mates nodded in agreement. Carole sighed and the others did the same.

            "Well I guess we're stuck here, then?" Rachel supposed. "What should we do?"

            "If you don't have anywhere to go, come to Besaid! It's small but everyone's friendly!"

            It seemed like everyone was waiting for an approval from Carole so she nodded. This guy was the only one they knew around here for now so she decided to follow him.

            "Alright, lead the way."

            "Come on, team! We're going back to Besaid!"

            Tidus walked ahead with Wakka, the team following. Carole remained behind a moment with her friends.

            "Where did we end up?" Adam asked.

            "And where could the others be?" Dave asked along.

            "What should we do?" Zell asked.

            "I wanna go home," Kerry said in a low voice.

            Carole took her head in her hand and frowned.

            "Let's just follow them for now and gather information. Maybe we can find the others on the way."

            _At least I hope so,_ she thought as she clenched her Griever necklace.

            They walked down a small road then Wakka wrapped an arm around Tidus' neck.

            "Hey! Let go!" Tidus said trying to free himself.

            "I've got a favor ta ask ya."

            "You want me on your team, right?" Tidus asked with a grin.

            "For the tournament. We never won a game before."

            "Wow! Never?"

            Wakka released him. He really seemed to like Tidus. The fact is that Tidus reminded him of his lost brother. It was as if he was back to him.

            "I'd be happy to!" Tidus answered. "But we're gonna play it my way!"

            "Whatever you say!"

            They kept walking. Zell turned to Carole.

            "What's 'Blitzball?'" he asked.

            The others all seemed to wonder the same thing. Why were they asking her? She's never been to this place either, how would she know? She just shrugged.

            "We can ask them later."

            They were on the edge of a small cliff when they saw a small village spreading down the hill.

            "Oh, look at that!" Rachel exclaimed pointing the village.

            "It looks nice!" Adam added.

            "It still looks nice, thanks to the Crusaders who keep Sin away from it," Wakka commented.

            "Cruise of what?" Tidus and Zell asked in the same time.

            Both looked at each other with dumb faces then laughed at each other. These guys could almost be twins.

            "What is that Sin?" Carole finally asked.

            Wakka and his team all looked at her in shock as if she was coming from a distant planet. For a moment, she felt like it was the case.

            "Well I guess you're really not from around here... Or maybe the toxin?" Wakka supposed turning to a red head guy.

            The guy shrugged, clueless.

            "The toxin?" Carole asked.

            "Maybe you should all go to the Crusaders' hut and they'll tell you what you need to know."

            Carole nodded. She hated being in the dark. She knew from experience since she was blind for 2 months. Her recently recovered hearing was put under pressure with all the noises around, birds chirping, water flowing from a nearby waterfall, waves... It was getting her a bit dizzy.

            They kept walking down the hill where a bunch of monsters ambushed them. On instincts, the SeeDs and there friends drew their weapons as well as Tidus. He was wielding a red bladed sword with the tip curving a long way under. Carole shivered thinking what it would feel like to be struck by that blade.

            On her hand, she took out her gunblade.

            "What is that?" Tidus asked with interest.

            "A gunblade. Part gun, part sword to put it simply. You're a good fighter?"

            "Why not find out for yourself?" Tidus asked with a challenging smile.

            _A girl with a blade, that's new,_ he thought.

            There was a small yellow and blue bird flying around and a blue furred dog. Tidus went for the little bird but it avoided the attack. Wakka came in.

            "Flyers are my specialty, let me handle them!"

            He threw a ball at the bird and hit it, killing it right away. Carole then dashed the dog and slashed it but when she wanted to pull the trigger, it didn't fire so the damage wasn't that big.

            "Shit! It must be because of the water!"

            "Hey, watch it!"

            Tidus slashed the dog before it could attack the girl. Then he turned to her but not with a proud smile as she first thought he would. 

            "You okay?" 

            "Yeah, thanks. I'll have to take care of my gunblade quickly or it'll rust. Wakka, you have anything like oil or grease in your village?"

            "Think I have somethin'."

            "Thanks."

            Tidus walked close to Carole, really interested with the weapon.

            "How did you call that already?"

            "A gunblade."

            "Do lots of people have that kind of weapon in your place?"

            "Besides me, only two guys have. It's hard to master."

            "Really? Then you must be good!"

            She wasn't annoyed by him, more exhausted from the recent events. It almost seemed like a dream but she didn't want to think about it. She just wanted to rest and clean her gunblade.

            "Where d'you come from?" Tidus asked.

            "Balamb Garden where I graduated as a SeeD."

            "And where's that?"

            "If I can find a map, maybe I could show you."

            That is if they're still in the same world...

            "What is a SeeD?"

            "It's a codename for mercenaries. Garden is the place where they're trained."

            "So it's a codename too?"

            "Kinda."

            Someone seemed to notice her rolling her eyes. She just wanted to be alone for a while.

            "Hey, Carole, can you come over here?" Dave asked.

            "Sure, sorry Tidus."

            "Hey, we can talk again later!"

            Carole slowed her pace to make it to the others and thanked Dave.

            "He seems like a nice guy," she said. "But he talks too much, too curious. He would definately not be a good SeeD..."

            "Well," Dave started pointing Zell who just caught up with Tidus with a thumb.

            The two seemed to get along quite well.

            "I guess there are exceptions..."

            "Hey!" Rachel complained twisting her lips. "Zell's really bright you know!"

            "Here we are!" Wakka cut in.

            Everyone stopped a moment to admire the small village. On their way, with the warm weather, they had enough time to dry almost completely. Carole was mad at her hair for it was a real mess like everytime it was getting soaked.

            "We're far from Esthar," Zell mumbled.

            "I miss Garden," Rachel added.

            _I miss Squall,_ Carole thought. _It would be much easier with him.... Where could he be? And the others? Are they safe?_

As they stepped in town, Wakka turned to them while the rest of his team were heading seperate directions. 

            "You hungry?" he asked.

            Tidus' stomach growled like he hasn't eaten for days. The others were hungry too, but didn't want it to be shown. But Wakka wasn't born yesterday.

            "I'll try and prepare somethin' for y'all. You can walk around town meanwhile."

            He turned to Tidus. 

            "You could go introduce yourself to the temple summoner."

            Summoner? Temple? What was that again?

            "You remember the prayer, right?" Wakka asked.

            Carole looked at her friends who all shrugged. Tidus seemed just as clueless.

            "I'll show you all. People would ask less questions if you know it."

            He placed a foot back and spread his arms each side of him. Then he brought his foot back with the other and placed his hands one over the other, palms facing each other's in some kind of a ball then bowed.

            "Now you try."

            They all did but only Tidus seemed to do well like he knew this despite he said he didn't. The fact is it was like something he knew just that it wasn't called a 'prayer'.

            "Not bad, you keep trying," Wakka advised tapping his shoulder.

            He pointed a tent in the far back.

            "That's the Crusader's hut. You need somethin', you ask them."

            At that moment, two guys came behind them. One had dark skin and short black hair and the other pale skin with red hair. The red headed one looked at Wakka with surprise.

            "Who did you bring back with you, now?"

            "Hey, Luzzu! These here seem completely lost and I think this one had a shot of Sin's toxin. Came from the sea."

            The red headed guy bowed in the prayer like he pitited Tidus.

            "Let me know if you need something," he said.

            "Well, could you hand us a map? I'd like to know where we are geographically," Carole asked.

            "Sure, come along."

            She turned to her friends.

            "I won't be long. Why don't you look around to see if the others are anywhere around here? Try and gather information too, but don't attract attention."

            "Okay!"

            Zell left with Rachel for a hut while Adam and Dave went for another one. Kerry shyly looked around, not sure what to do. 

            "You can come with me if you want."

            Without a word, Kerry followed Carole after Luzzu. Tidus wondered what to do for a moment then decided to go to the Crusaders' too. 

            In the hut, Luzzu went to a dresser and handed her a map.

            "Where do you people come from?"

            "I'm not sure... We fell from the sky into the water, or so Wakka said... It happened so fast I'm not sure."

            "That sure is strange. Take your time and come see me if there's anything you need."

            "Thanks a lot, Luzzu. I really appreciate it."

            "It's one of the Crusaders' duty: to help people in need."

            Carole wished there would be something like that in her world. It was hard and rare to come across people like Luzzu.

            She went in the back of the tent with Kerry following close while Tidus entered the tent behind them.

            "Ah, the one from the sea. What can I do for you?"

            "Well, I wondered what are the Crusaders?"

            The dark skinned one turned to him with high surprise on his face.

            "You're kidding right?"

            "Gatta, the toxin."

            "Oh yeah..."

            "Tell him what we are."

            "Okay."

            He stood up and placed his arm across his chest. He talked about a man forming the Crusaders long ago which weren't called the Crusaders yet, they were called the Crimson something and had for mission to keep Sin away from towns.

            From what she heard, Carole guessed that Sin was some kind of monster and since it seemed impossible to defeat, something really strong and big! 

            Then Tidus asked about summoners and Carole decided to stop eavesdropping. The only thing that mattered for now was to find the others and go back home. She unrolled the map and took a look at it. After a few seconds, her eyes were wide and her face burning with panic. What was that? All these names, Besaid, Kilika, Luca, Guadosalam, Gagazet, Zanarkand... And the configuration of the world... It was nothing like theirs, that's for sure. Where did they land on to? And how?

            Sitting next to her, Kerry looked at her paniced face.

            "What's wrong?"

            She couldn't take her eyes off the map.

            "I think we have a problem."

            She got up and went to Luzzu. Tidus was gone and she hasn't even noticed yet.

            "Can I borrow this for a while?" she asked.

            "Sure, you can even keep it. Was it useful?"

            "Unfortunately no, but maybe it will keep us from getting lost even further."

            She nodded at Luzzu as thanks and at Gatta as good-bye. Then she left the hut, Kerry quickly coming up to her. They came upon Dave and Adam.

            "Any luck?" she asked.

            Dave shook his head.

            "It seems they didn't get close to here," Adam said.

            Rachel and Zell came from another hut.

            "They sell things but they're different from our remedies. But they use Gils too so I bought some things. I just don't know if the effects are the same." Rachel said showing a bottle

            "And they don't have hotdogs," Zell said sulking.

            "Maybe this is too country-like for them to know about the sweet gastronomy that are hot dogs," Carole said sarcastically.

            The others giggled and Zell folded his arms.

            Then the others saw Carole's concerned face.

            "Hey, what did you get?" Zell asked.

            She showed them the map and suggested they'd leave the middle of town. They were supposed not to attract attention, not the contrary.

            They went to the shadows of a hut and she showed them the map again. All the faces turned the way hers did a while ago.

            "What the hell?" 

            "What's that?" Adam asked.

            "Well, whether we were trapped in a time portal and ended up either in the far past or much ahead in the future after a natural disaster or..."

            Everyone waited for her to continue.

            "Or?" Dave urged her.

            "Or we ended up in another world..."

**Note: Hi! Chapter one done! Phew, I'm having a real hard time with this fic... With all these people and the main FFX plot... But since the story is mostly around FF8 gang, FFX will be left aside first but once they leave Besaid, they'll all go together and follow the main plan. Did I forget something? I feel like there's something wrong, is there? Wakka didn't push Tidus in the water since they were not alone and they met Luzzu and Gatta after. It's a little twisted after all. I'm trying my best so give me comments please!! Review!! Those are what keep me going!**


	3. Chapter 2: to lead or not to lead

Chapter 2: To lead or not to lead

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            After the gang decided to search for more information, they split up. Rachel and Zell went around, Adam and Dave went to see Wakka and it seemed Tidus also headed there. Carole went there too to get the oil Wakka said he had.

            "Here," he said. "Hope it can help ya."

            "Thanks Wakka."

            "I'll call y'all when dinner's ready."

            Carole nodded with appreciation and was about to leave when Wakka turned to Tidus.

            "Take a nap, you look bushed!"

            Tidus did seem tired. Carole and the others were too, but they were used to it so they didn't bother, but Tidus gladly laid down on a small bed in the corner of the hut.

            While he was snoozing, Dave and Adam were telling Wakka about what they discovered. They were interrupted when a man entered. It was a priest from the temple.

            "Won't you at least go see how they do?"

            "They'll be fine! Besides we can't interfere, it's a rule!"

            "But it's been nearly..."

            Carole lost the conversation as she left the hut, but inside, these words brought back memories from long ago to Tidus' mind. About when his father disappeared, that if he'd die, he'd be happy. His mother was pretty worried but Tidus really hated him. Then she said that he'd never be able to tell him he hated him if he'd die...

            Unable to sleep anymore, Tidus got up and saw that no one was there anymore so he went out, towards the temple.

            He found Carole on the top steps leading to it, rubbing her gunblade with great care like it was a precious jewel or a piece of art. She was cleaning the barrel, oiling it so it'd run better. He thought that there was more to this 'ritual' than cleaning. It seemed she was thinking about something else.

            "Hey!" he said.

            She looked up to him, and waved.

            "Hi!"

            "So... it seems you're from another world?"

            She frowned with surprise.

            "Your friends told Wakka about it and I overheard."

            "I see," she said rubbing her blade again.

            He sat next to her a moment, like hypnotize by her slow movements.

            "This is hard to take care of, right?"

            "Yes, but I like it. It helps me to relax."

            "But you seem to have a lot on your mind, don't you?"

            "I'm alright, really!"

            But she was lying, she was not alright. She lost half her friends, including her lover and she had no way to know if they were still alive. Tidus kind of figured out she wanted to be alone so he got up and stretched up a bit. 

            "You seen Wakka?"

            She pointed the temple behind her.

            "He went in there a moment before you came out of the hut with an other man."

            "I'll go see what's wrong. It sounded like trouble when the guy came in."

            He went straight inside not waiting for a reply.

            In fact she didn't really want to be alone. It was always a way she showed people. She looked like she wanted to be alone but in fact, she needed people around her more than ever. 

            Stopping her cleaning, she lowered her head and shut her eyes tight. A tear escaped from them and rolled down her face unto her gunblade. The red polished blade reflected the face of a little boy standing next to her.

            "You're crying, ya?"

            She looked up and rubbed her eyes.

            "No, I'm just a bit tired and the sun's hurting my eyes. I'm not used to it."

            "Here," the little boy said handing her a small flower. "Don't cry anymore, ya?"

            She took it and the kid smiled before going farther to play with his friends. She had a smile and in the same time felt some pity. For what she understood, that Sin was attacking villages restlessly. Despite their living in constant fear of an attack that could cost them their life, they were all cheerful. And there she was crying for her sake... She'd rather think of something to do to find her friends and fast! Who'd know if they were not in trouble?

            She caught a glimpse of a figure looking at her. She looked ahead and saw Kerry exploring the area but she seemed to always stay in a spot where she could see Carole. The elder girl smiled. Why worry now? She wasn't alone and more people needed help.

            "Hey, Kerry!" she called.

            Even though the little girl was looking at her, she was still startled at the call, not expecting it.

            "Come over here, would you?"

            Kerry quickly trotted towards her. Carole rested her gunblade aside and invited the girl to sit by her side by tapping the ground next to her. She obeyed with a nervous smile.

            She had shoulder length dark brown hair, really dark brown eyes,  they almost looked black. She was around 5'2" tall which wasn't bad considering Carole was barely 5'6". She was wearing the juniors clothing and had a nice silver cross necklace with a rose on the middle. She was nearly the same age than Carole's older brother, Robert. He was just a year younger.

            "Nice necklace you got, Kerry."

            "Thanks!" Kerry exclaimed with a wide smile seeing the elder girl's interrest in it.

            "You just registered, right?"

            "Yes, m'am."

            "Oh, no! Please, call me Carole!"

            "Alright, Carole."

            The little girl seemed embarassed to call an elder SeeD by her name but Carole smiled widely.

            "We're all stuck in this together so I think we might as well be friends, don't you think?"

            Kerry nodded.

            "Where do you live, Kerry?"

            "I lived in Winhill but I got recently I moved to Balamb Garden. I have a room in the dormitory."

            "What were you doing when you got dragged along?"

            "I just got my weapon."

            "Already?"

            "I was always taught to fight so I received special permission. It's these."

            She took a pair of long knifes from behind her back and showed them to her. Carole examined them with curiosity.

            "Wow! You must be real quick when you use those!"

            "Yes but you need greater skills for using a gunblade!"

            "Was that a compliment?"

            Kerry blushed but Carole laughed and Kerry joined in.

            "Show me how you hold them."

            Kerry seemed shy a moment but seeing Carole's encouraging smile, she agreed. She stood in front of Carole and held her blades backward, the blades against her forearms, ready to slash. [think about Zidane's stance] She bent over, holding the blades up behind her.

            Carole nodded in approval. She was curious to see how this girl could fight.

            "You have brothers or sisters?"

            Kerry broke her stance and sat down beside her again. She was almost completely at ease and that's what Carole wanted. She wanted her to talk so she wouldn't think too much about their situation. In fact it was good for the both of them.

            Kerry told about her divorced parents, that she had three sisters and that she was the older one. Carole said Rachel was her sister and she had two brothers. She also was the elder sister so that made another common point between them.

Meanwhile, inside the temple, Tidus has joined Wakka down a set of stairs. Wakka was talking to a man with his hands joined in his long sleeves.

            "Hey, what's wrong?"

            "The summoner hasn't come back from the trial yet."

            "Is it really dangerous in there?"

            "Sometimes, yes," Wakka answered.

            "Then why are we standing here for? Let's go help!"

            He climbed the stairs but all people standing in the place were opposed.

            "You can't!"

            "But what if the summoner dies?"

            "The precepts must be obeyed!"

            "Like I care!" he said before entering.

            Everyone had shocked expressions from the way he acted. Wakka quickly went after him.

            Outside, Adam and Dave have joined Carole and Kerry. When they showed up, the girl seemed to grow shy again.

            "These are my friends," Carole reassured her. "This is Adam, and this is Dave, Adam's cousin."

            Adam crouched down to her. He always liked children, even Carole's brothers she couldn't stand herself.

            "So, are you scared?"

            She shook her head.

            "No! Carole said she'd watch me. But I'll watch her too!"

            Then she noticed the bow and quiver on Adam's back. Her eyes seemed to shine for a moment and Adam noticed. He took it up and showed it to her.

            "You like it?"

            "Yeah!"

            "Wanna try?"

            "Can I?"

            Her shining eyes couldn't lie so he handed it to her.

            "Let's go try somewhere safe."

            She followed him away and Carole nodded with a smile. Then some people arguing behind her caught her attention. Both her and Dave turned around.

            "What's going on?" she asked.

            "Someone entered the Cloister of Trials!"

            Carole arched an eyebrow and looked at Dave who shrugged, just as clueless.

            "And... that's a bad thing?"

            "It's forbidden! Only summoners, apprentice summoners, and their Guardians are allowed in!"

            Now she was lost.

            "Guardians? What are those?"

            But the angry man was away.

            "I can tell you," Rachel said coming in.

            "We learned a lot about how this world works," Zell added.

            "Really?"

            They told about Sin which was an entity that comes back everytime it gets defeated by a summoner. The summoner travels on a pilgrimage to gather Aeons, then the Final Aeon which is the only thing that can actually kill Sin. The Summoner needs Guardians to protect him on the way to Zanarkand where resides the Final Aeon. It seems all this is around Yevon, which is some kind of god they worship. Everything going against the teachings of Yevon is blasphemy.

            "I get why they got mad..." Carole said. "I bet it was Tidus. But there is something I don't get... You said Zanarkand is some kind of ruined holy place, but Tidus said he came from there..."

            "Everyone says it's because of Sin's toxin he's like that, that he forgot," Zell explained.

            "I don't know, he seems so sure of himself... Maybe he's in the same case we are in?" Dave suggested.

            "Who knows!" Rachel exclaimed shrugging. "I think we should leave this place and look for our friends."

            "I agree," Dave said. "I'm really starting to miss everyone."

            "Especially Quistis?" Zell teased.

            "Well, unlike you, I wasn't lucky enough to end up with my girlfriend!"

            Carole felt an urge to hold her necklace. 

            "Sorry, Carole," Dave apologized figuring out she was thinking about Squall.

            She gave a very exagerated and fake smile.

            "It's alright! I know we'll find him, we'll find them all!"

            But she was really not sure about it herself. 

            Before she could voice her feelings out, Adam came back with Kerry.

            "You're very good!" Adam said to her. "You have the strength in it, only your aim needs a little work."

            "I know, that's what I'm always told!"

            Kerry seemed to have grown fond of Adam too. When the duo caught up with the others, they told again what they had learned.

            "I'm not sure I got all that..." Adam said scratching the back of his head.

            "It's simple," Carole said. "We travelled to this place called Spira through that thing back in Garden. This world is constantly threatened by this thing called Sin. Someone has the power to defeat it but it takes a long journey to get to it, but it seems Sin always manages to come back every now and then..."

            "This sucks!" Zell stated.

            "Yes, but it is not our concern," Rachel said folding her arms. "We must find a way back home! As far as it looked, everyone must think we're dead!"

            "You must be right. So what..."

            Carole couldn't finish her sentence. Joyful exclamations were heard behind them at the temple and all the villagers gattered there.

            "What's going on?" Kerry asked staying close to Carole.

            "A summoner is born!" someone exclaimed with joy.

            They'd have a chance to actually see a summoner. That should help them to know a little more about this place.

            A young girl emerged from the temple followed with a black dressed woman, some kind of two legged blue furred beast, Wakka, and in the back, staring with surprise, Tidus. The villagers hurried around the short brown haired girl wearing a long dark blue skirt with small flowers on the bottom.

            "THAT's a summoner??" Zell asked just as surprised as Tidus was.

            They were all just as surprised. They weren't expecting a summoner to be a cute young girl, more like an old geezer. As a matter of fact, Tidus was thinking the exact same thing.

            The villagers gattered around a circle on the ground down the stairs. Wakka turned to Tidus still standing in the back.

            "Hey, over here!" he called him.

            Tidus shook the surprise off and hurried to them. Wakka grabbed him around the neck.

            "Wait 'til you see this!"

            "I can't see anything!" Tidus complained trying to get free.

            Wakka released him and broke through the crowd to the front with the elder girl and the beast. Carole and her friends tried to see as well.

            "We're ready!" Wakka said raising a hand.

            "Okay," the summoner said turning her head to him.

            She was standing in the middle of the circle, the villagers around the back half of it, leaving the front free for whatever was going to come. She was holdng a stick with a yellow circle on top. She took a deep breath then placed a feet in front of her, the other back and extended her staff backward. A strange magic circle appeared under her.

            "Wow!" Adam exclaimed.

            "It's not over yet!" Wakka said.

            Something seemed to happen in the sky so everyone looked up. Some kind of huge bird broke through the clouds and flew down to the front of the circle.

            "A GF?" Zell asked.

            The bird landed and the summoner walked to it. She raised a hand to its head then the bird gladly let her rub it.

            "No way!" Carole exclaimed. "GFs usually give one attack then leave! This thing stays here!"

            "Impressive, ya?" Wakka asked.

            "It sure is! Who is it?"

            "That's Yuna, daughter of High Summoner Braska. He defeated Sin ten years ago."

            "Oh..."

            The creature took off and went back to the sky. The villagers gathered around Yuna and started showing their excitement. The black dressed girl was rubbing the top of her head like she was a little girl.

            "That's Lulu, and that blue guy over there's Kimahri Ronso. They're Yuna's Guardians, just like me."

            "Wow..."

            "Now that she's become a summoner, she's gonna leave on a pilgrimage."

            "To gather the final Aeon?" Carole asked.

            "Yes, you learned well!"

            "How will you leave?"

            "Taking a boat tomorrow morning. Since you're looking for your friends and that they seem to be nowhere around here, you can come along, ya?"

            "We'll have to talk about it. It's true Besaid Island is small so I guess we should search elsewhere."

            "But tonight, we celebrate the upcoming of a new summoner!"

            Later at night, a fire was set in the central place and people have gathered around it. The Ronso was standing aside with arms folded and he seemed mad, but Wakka explained he was always like this. He was really protective of Yuna. Lulu seemed grumpy but that's just the way she was. Yuna was sitting farther with a little girl and two older people. 

            When Tidus arrived, Wakka pulled him to his team, introducing him and saying he would be part of the team for the tournament. Tidus smiled.

            "So, what's our goal?"

            "To do our best!" the team replied.

            "No, no, no, no, no! If I say what's our goal, you say victory! In a Blitzball tournament, we play to win!"

            "Victory?" Wakka repeated.

            "Victory!" the team exclaimed.

            They repeated it for a few times but Tidus wasn't listening anymore. He has turned his head toward Yuna and was staring at her. So he went over her but didn't receive a warm welcome.

            "Stay away from the summoner!" the old woman warned.

            "You're a bad man!" the little girl said getting up.

            Yuna got up.

            "Lady Yuna!" the old man objected.

            "It was really my fault to begin with..."

            She went towards Tidus and he suddenly seemed to grow nervous.

            From farther, Carole was chuckling. That kind of behavior couldn't lie. 

She was still rubbing her gunblade with Kerry by her side who decided to polish her knives. 

"If you don't take care of your weaponry, it'll let you down," Carole decided to play instructor for the time being. 

She tried to teach Kerry what she already knew about SeeD so she wouldn't fall behind until they went home.

            Kerry put all her heart into it until she could clearly see the fire waving on the surface of her blades.

            In another corner, Dave, Adam and Zell were staring at Lulu. Her long black dress only had one weakness: the top. It was baring her shoulders and a large part of her chest. Rachel got mad and grabbed Zell by the ear to pull him away.

            "Ow! That hurts!"

            "Stop staring, it's rude!"

            "Yeah right, like you're pulling me because I'm bein' rude... Ow!"

            Adam wanted to talk to her. He didn't know why, but he had to. That girl was showing a cold look but he felt like she had something of her own. He decided to give it a try. 

            "Where are you going?" Dave asked. "She'll eat you alive!"

            But he kept going. 

            Wakka had explained about these new people to everyone. Most thought they were lost because of Sin's toxin but they couldn't explain the foreign clothing. It was like believeing they could come from another world would be preposterous.

            When Adam came to Lulu and thought of something to say, she turned to him with a cold look.

            "I don't know who you are or where you came from..." she started.

            "Then let me tell you about it. You're Lulu, right? I'm Adam."

            Dave was thinking he had it wrong. She was not the kind of girl to get interrested by such chatter. He decided to join on Carole, Kerry, Rachel and Zell who was rubbing his sore ear.

            "Take a look at that," Carole said in disaprovement gesturing her head towards the people. "Tidus's all over Yuna, and Adam's all over Lulu... I wonder if I should tell Rinoa about it?"

            "Come on, he's not flriting, just trying to make friends."

            "Yeah right, with the biggest chested girl!" Rachel said with disgust.

            "Are you jealous?" Zell asked.

            "Don't even start!" she warned him.

            "Look, he's not even looking at her breasts. I think he really wants to make friends and maybe that would be his chance," Carole said.

            Adam was always talkative but Lulu didn't seemed annoyed which surprised Carole. She always had a gift to figure people's way to behave after a first look. Maybe her gift was wrong this time.

            Most of the villagers were staying away from the newcomers. They feared they might bring them bad luck even though they didn't do anything wrong.

            Carole's gunblade was really giving strange colors because of the fire. Dave placed a hand on her forearm to stop her from rubbing it.

            "Why don't you drop it? A weapon in the middle of a celebration doesn't suit too well."

            "I have to get it in good working order, we're leaving tomorrow."

            "What?"

            "A boat is leaving this island and Yuna leaves on a pilgrimage with her guardians. Wakka told me we can hitch a ride if we want."

            "Then we're gonna search for the others?" Zell asked.

            Carole nodded.

            "I guess we'll need a leader for that," Zell stated. "Usually, it was Squall but since he's not here, it should be Carole."

            "Me? No way! Why me? Because I'm Squall's girlfriend? Why would we need a leader?"

            "Isn't it obvious?" Rachel asked. "We'll probably encounter monsters on the way so we need a leader to tell us what to do during fights!"

            "Why someone must tell us what to do?" Kerry asked a bit shyly.

            Carole turned to her and decided to explain.

            "Let's say you come across a bunch of monsters. You are... three people fighting. One wants to cast a spell on a monster but he doesn't tell anyone. Another one goes to attack the monster and kill it just when the spell is lauched, what do you think happens?"

            "He receives the spell?"

            "Bingo! So I get we need a leader, but why me? You do it, Zell, you know Squall for a long time."

            "That's the point, we don't wanna fight like he would. If we try and fail, we'll all be killed so what's the point? You've been leader before, you know how it works!"

            "But!"

            "You also completely changed Garden's way of thinking!" Dave added. "You're a revolutionnary leader."

            "Why not vote?" Rachel suggested. "Let's get Adam and vote on who should be leader."

            Dave went to get him. Adam apologized to Lulu, saying they had something to do then followed his cousin.

            "I think she had a sad past, that's why she's like that but she's not a bad girl..." Adam told.

            The others told him about the plan on voting and he agreed.

            "So for this journey to find our friends, who should lead our team?" Carole asked.

            Without hesitation, everyone pointed at her, even Kerry. She did it with a wide smile as if she never thought of anyone else to do it. Carole sighed. They had majority, what could she say?

            "Oh, alright!"

            "Yay!" Kerry exclaimed.

            "You sound pretty happy!"

            Wakka has joined them.

            "The team's all cheered up for the tournament. Maybe we could win! So you coming with us, ya?"

            "It seems so," Carole answered. "Where will we head?"

            "Kilika first since there's a temple there. Then we'll take another boat to Luca. It's a large city so maybe you can find your friends there, ya?"

            "And what about Tidus?" Zell asked.

            "He's coming too. He'll try to find someone he knows."

            "Talking about me?"

            Wakka turned to him. Tidus was smiling.

            "Made a new friend?" Zell asked teasingly.

            Tidus slightly blushed.

            "You can say that..."

            "She's cute, ya?" Wakka asked elbowing him.

            "Yeah..."

            "But I warn you, don't fall for her!"

            "No promises there, big guy!"

            Kerry tried her best to hide a yawning but to no avail.

            "Ready to call it a night?"

            They all nodded. They really needed the rest. So it was decided that Rachel, Carole and Kerry would sleep in the Crusaders's hut while Dave, Adam, Zell and Tidus would try and share Wakka's.

            Since someone was using one of the three beds in the Crusaders's, Kerry would have to sleep with one of the older girls. At first she wanted to sleep with Carole, but she said it was a bad idea. She was always tossing and turning in her sleep, Kerry would end up on the floor.

            So she was to sleep with Rachel.

            As the night was on them, Kerry and Rachel were asleep but the new leader was worried. She didn't want to be leader but everyone was sure she was fit for the job. She didn't ask for this! What if she'd do something wrong? What if someone would get hurt because of her?

            _I know you'll be just fine._

Squall's words echoed in her mind from the Great Battle. She thought the same thing back then and she didn't do that bad... People didn't trust her because they thought she had the leader part only because she was Squall's girlfriend, but that's not why she had the part, and that wasn't why her friends gave her the part. It was because she was a good SeeD and they trusted her. She decided not to worry about it because that's when trouble comes. She knew they'd find everyone eventually and would find a way home.

            Thinking how she missed Squall's pressence by her side, she finally fell asleep.

            "I love you..."

            Squall kissed her, holding her tight. They were in a room, in some kind of hotel, half undressed. His gentle kisses were setting her on fire and the sweet touch of his hands was almost burning.

            "I love you too," she answered kissing him back.

            The door suddenly opened and Rinoa appeared. Squall looked around to her and his face lightened up. 

            "Squall, I love you!" she said.

"Rinoa!" he exclaimed hurrying to her.

            Carole sat up on the bed, puzzled.

            "What?"

            Squall hugged Rinoa tightly and kissed her right in front of her.

            "I'm sorry," Rinoa said. "I'll never leave you again."

"Sorry, Carole, the fun's over!" he said with coldness. "Now that Rinoa's here, I don't need you anymore."

"But... you said you loved me!"

"You really believed me? Who could love a girl like you? Go to hell and don't come back!"

            "NO!" she screamed sitting up on her bed.

            She took a quick look around wondering where she was until she remembered. Then she took her head in her hand. Her hair was sticking with sweat and her heart was beating fast. It seemed it would blow out of her chest.

            Tears were rolling down her face. Could it be? What if Squall ended up in the same place Rinoa did? Would he go back with her? Would his feelings for her be revived by being close to her?

            She clenched the griever necklace around her neck. She didn't want to take it off even for sleep. 

            She was sobbing quietly, trying to think that Squall would never do such a thing, or at least not say it like that! But why did she dream it? She sometimes had fortunetelling dreams in the past, what if this one was one of these too?

            She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore so she decided to go do what she usually did when she was upset: swing her gunblade around.

            It was resting against the wall so she grabbed it. She walked to the exit carefully not to wake the others up and took a peek outside. Lulu and Wakka were talking next to the fire so she tried to leave without being noticed.

            Someone else was having a disturbed sleep. In Wakka's hut, Tidus was tossing.

            "I hate you!!" he suddenly exclaimed sitting up.

            He quickly looked around hoping he didn't wake anyone but the others were sleeping like logs. They must have been really tired.

            He heard voices outside so he went there. He just pushed the cloth used as door and took a peek.

            "He does look a lot like Chappu," Lulu said holding one of her arms. "I was surprised too, the first time I saw him. But, no matter what he looks like, he isn't Chappu! You shouldn't have brought him here in the first place!"

            "Yeah, but he needed our help," Wakka explained with his arms folded.

            "Excuses again?", she said walking a step forward to him with a frown.

            "Yeah, but..." Wakka started looking at the ground.

            "That's it! And those other people too? That claim they come from another world? They're just as strange as Tidus! No more! Enough, Wakka!"

            She spun around and left. Wakka extended a hand towards her but he didn't know what to say, so he just dropped it and headed for his tent, head down. Tidus came out to join him.

            "Gee, grumpy! What have I done?"

            "My brother Chappu, he looked like you. He died off the cost of Besaid fighting Sin with the Crusaders."

            "Oh, I don't intend to take his place!"

            "I know, just forget it."

            "Well, I still... I mean... Thanks Wakka," Tidus said showing his hand for Wakka to take it.

            "Nah, forget it. We leave tomorrow morning so you better get some sleep."

            "I think I'm gonna take some fresh air first."

            "Suit yourself."

            Wakka entered the tent and Tidus headed in the village. It was so calm and peaceful at night... Hard to say people here were living in constant fear of Sin's attack. It was warm even in the middle of the night. All this silence made him homesick. Zanarkand was always so full of life, people and noises that it made him uneasy. He was thinking of going back to bed when he heard a faint noise coming from behind the temple. With curiosity, he headed there.

            He took a careful look behind the wall and was surprised to see the gunblade girl sparring against an invisible oponent. He watched her a moment. She wasn't wearing her jacket, her hair sticking with sweat, her mouth trying to catch every single drop of air she could, her feet moving swiftly to avoid an invisible blow... She was a trained fighter all right, but she was frowning with thoughts. Her mind wasn't at ease and that could be dangerous during training. She could hurt herself.

            Suddenly, she stopped. Tidus thought she might have felt his presence but the girl dropped her gunblade then fell on her knees. She brought a hand to her face and started sobbing. Tidus felt bad. He thought maybe he should ask what was wrong but he thought she might think he was spying on her, which was exactly the case but he didn't want to embarrass her.

            He had an idea. He hurried back to the hut to get his long sword and came back. He would pretend he wanted to train too. She was still on her knees, still crying.

            "Mind if I join in?" Tidus asked showing up.

            The startled girl quickly wiped the tears from her eyes.

            "Tidus, I didn't hear you coming," she said and got up.

            She tried to reach for her gunblade but her hands were shaking so Tidus took it and handed it to her.

            "Thanks."

            "You okay?"

            She gave him a fake smile just like before.

            "Of course, I guess must be tired."

            Tidus stared at her for a moment, head bent aside.

            "You're a bad liar, did you know that?"

            She lowered her head and faced him her back.

            "I always were..." she said lowly.

            "You wanna talk about it?"

            "I guess... I'm scared. I'm scared of never seeing my friends anymore or that... they'd be different when we find them..."

            "Boyfriend?"

            She turned to him with a surprised look and he gave a comforting smile.

            "Heheh, I think I guessed right! You're afraid he might forget about you?"     

            She nodded.

            "Well, if you're soon to be married, I think he'll be able to wait, don't you think?"

            "How do you...?"

            "I overheard your friends talking about it. You're pretty young for wedding."

            "It was his idea. He said he didn't want me to leave anymore. We got separated too often he didn't want to take the risk of losing me again..."

            She had a smile then rubbed her eyes again.

            "Thank you, Tidus..."

            "Hey, could you tell me about that place you came from? I want to know everything!"

            "Aren't you tired?"

            "Nope!"

            "Alright..."

            She started by telling that Zell was part of the gang that wiped out a world threatening Sorceress called Ultimecia, along with Squall who was her boyfriend. She told about how she met him, where she grew up and everything about her illness and the Great Battle to end with how they ended up on Spira.

            "Whew! You said so much about it, it's almost impossible that you wouldn't be from there. Know what? I think you do come from another world."

            "And I think the place you come from is different than Spira. You didn't lose your memory since you remember where you lived as a kid, who your parents are..."

            But at the mention of parents, Tidus looked away.

            "Did I... say something wrong?"

            "My mom... died when I was young. My father disappeared after he went to sea for Blitzball training and my mother died shortly after... It's all his fault!"

            She could guess Tidus resented his father. He got up and turned to her, helping her up as well.

            "Anyway, thanks a lot, Tidus. It really cheered me up, really."

            And she meant it.

            "I'm glad I could be of some use. Hey! One of these days, I'd like to spar with you."

            "I'm looking forward to it!" she answered.

            "I guess we should sleep the rest of the night off."

            She nodded and they went back to their hut, carrying there respective weapon.

            She felt really at ease with Tidus which was not a simple thing for her. It usually took her time to get easy with someone new, but not with him. She really felt comforted by his words. Even though she was older than him, she felt like he could be her older brother, the older brother she never had. Being the elder sister, she never had anyone to turn to when she was in pain or sorrow. She always felt like no one could understand her. Except for Squall, only Tidus filled this role.

**Note:**** Finally! This chapter was soooooo long!! I know Tidus may be out of character, but he's like that only around me (Carole) it seems my presence makes him more mature... But I think he's not that out of character. This chapter was hard on me, just like the others but since this one was longer, I was getting confused! Don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have questions! Review, please! Your comments could only help improve this story!**


	4. Chapter 3: The search begins

Chapter 3: The Search begins

****

            The next morning, the whole gang have gathered in front of the temple. They were only waiting for Yuna. Wakka took Tidus aside to hand him something. He showed him a sword with a blue blade. It was as if it was made of solid water with bubbles inside.

            "Wow!" Tidus said swinging it as a try.

            "That's the sword you gave Chappu," Lulu commented.

            Tidus froze and turned to her.

            "Well, he never used it," Wakka said scratching the back of his head. "Might as well be put to some use, ya? I'm sure he would have wanted that."

            "Hey, what are we waiting for?" Zell asked getting impatient.

            "Well, since it's a pilgrimage for a summoner, I think we should wait for the summoner," Carole said burying a laugh.

            "Huh... right."

            A thud was heard from the temple and everyone looked that way. Yuna just dropped a big box that looked pretty heavy.

            "You really don't need all that luggage," Lulu said amused.

            "They're not really my things," Yuna answered. "They're gifts, for the temples we're to visit."

            "This isn't a vacation, Yuna," Wakka said.

            He sounded so serious about it, it was as if they could all die on the way.

            "I guess you're right," Yuna said leaving the box behind.

            She joined with the others and Tidus looked at her. She really was cute.

            "You know everyone?" Wakka asked pointing the gang.

            She seemed a bit lost so they introduced themselves.

            "I'm Carole. Nice to meet you."

            "I'm Rachel, her sister."

            "I'm Zell, Rachel's boyfriend. Hi!"

            "I'm Adam."

            "And I'm Dave, his cousin."

            "I'm Kerry Gornall, nice to meet you, Lady Yuna."

            She heard everyone in town call her that so it only seemed fit to call her that herself.

            Yuna bowed.

            "I hope you can find your way back."

            "You believe us?"

            "Why not? Just like I believe Tidus can come from a Zanarkand with no Sin."

            Tidus swung his sword. It was called the Brotherhood, which was suiting it very well. So much for his father's sword.

            "When do we leave?" he asked eager to try it out.

            "Is everyone ready?"

            They all looked at each other. They had all their clothes, weapons, items and all. Carole's gang had GFs junctionned, magics and all. But she took them aside earlier and told them not to summon any GF. Since only summoners could summon any, they might offend someone.

            They all nodded.

            "We're ready," Carole told.

            "Let's go then."

            They all followed Wakka out of town but Yuna stayed behind. She looked at the village with a small smile then did the prayer. Then she followed.

            Tidus was walking on the front with Wakka and Yuna and Lulu were following. Carole was walking in the front of her gang with Kerry.

            "Watch for fiends," Wakka warned. "They might attack us."

            Just to confirm his words, some monsters attacked. A bird and a wolf that both Tidus and Wakka took care of. 

            They met more and Wakka explained Tidus about flying types being real quick so it was best if he took care of these himself. Then Lulu gave a demonstration of magic attacks, depending on which type a monster is weak against. Yuna summoned Valefor and everyone was still surprised by it.

            But the lecture bored Carole, Zell and Rachel. As SeeDs, they already knew all that. For Dave and Adam, it was only logic but for Kerry, it was a bit like class.

They climbed a hill and came upon a statue. Yuna kneeled in front of it and started praying. The others looked at each other with curiosity so Wakka explained.

            "Everyone who leave Besaid pray here for a safe trip. Chappu didn't pray that day and he didn't make it."

            He kneeled in front of the statue and prayed with Yuna. Tidus decided to just stand and do the prayer, mimiced by the others right away.

            Once they were done, they kept going. It was a waste of time for some, but they had their own habits themselves so they didn't want to break those of others.

            Then they left to head back on the road. They walked on a small road with high pillars standing each side of it. There was a blue jewel on one and Kerry went to it.

            "There's something written there," she said.

            She frowned trying to read it.

            "'Kilika yht Bikanel zueh yc uha'... what??"

            "What the fuck??" Rachel stated.

            "That's Al Behd, isn't it?" Tidus asked.

            "Yes, it is," Lulu stated. "You can sometimes find messages like that in other places as well."

            "Weird..." Zell commented.

            "I love foreign languages!" Carole said. "I wonder if I can..."

            She walked to the pillar and took a look. She frowned a moment.

            "Kilika and Bikanel... What's that?"

            "They're islands," Yuna answered. "Kilika is where we're heading and Bikanel is a desert island."

            "Kilika yht Bikanel... Kilika yht Bikanel... 'yht' could mean 'and' so... it sounds like a code more than a language... 'y' is 'a', 'h' is 'n' and 't' is 'd'. Zueh ends with an 'n', 'yc' starts with a... at or as?"

            "Cut it out, Carole!" Rachel said getting impatient. "You could spend the whole night trying to figure it out! We don't have all day!"

            She turned to them and smiled a bit embarrassed. 

            "Heh heh, sorry. I'm still gonna write it down and study it a bit more. It might be useful."

            "Tch!" Wakka objected. "Anything coming from them is bad news!"

            Carole took out a small pen and a piece of paper from her pocket and wrote the sentence down. Under it, she wrote what she thought was the proper translation so far. She promised herself to take another look at it later and placed all in her pocket. She nodded at the others to tell she was ready and apologized again. Tidus came to her and got close for only her would hear what he had to say.

            "I didn't tell Wakka anything but when I first arrived in Spira, I was helped by a crew of Al Behd. I couldn't understand much of their language but if it can help you, I know a word. 'Oui' means 'you' in Al Behd."

            "Cool! Thanks," she said taking note.

            "I'll try and help you with that. I'd like to know more in case I ever meet up with the same Al Behds."

            She nodded and they walked again.

            As they were passing under a high bridge joining the pillars, a roaring sound was heard. Always ready for battle, the SeeDs and their friends took out their weapons. Carole grabbed her gunblade and frowned, looking around. Kerry got her knives ready even though she never really used them, Zell stood with his fists high, Adam readied an arrow, Dave unsheated his sword and Rachel took an axe from her back. Rachel was small and thin so when she first chose that weapon, everyone thought she wouldn't be able to use it, but her axe was a revolutionnary model which was hard and light in the same time. Not to forget deadly.

            "What the hell?" Zell asked nervously looking around.

            "There!" Kerry exclaimed pointing the top of a pillar.

            Everyone followed her gaze and saw what looked like a monster. A blue furred lion. They had trouble seeing clearly because of the sun's rays but they recognized Kimahri. He jumped down, using the pillars to push himself farther. And heavily landed right in front of Tidus who jumped back with surprise.

            "Wow!"

            Kimahri clenched his fists then punched the ground with both of them. Then he took a deep breath and let out a loud growl before taking out a spear and attacking Tidus.

            "Tidus!" Carole exclaimed making a step forward.

            "No! Stay behind!" he warned waving his arm out.

            Tidus had some trouble keeping up with the beast. He tried his best to avoid the attacks but despite its size, Kimahri was pretty quick. He even unleashed an overdrive, using his spear to jump in the sky and land it on Tidus. The fight kept going for a while until Wakka, Lulu and Yuna came back. They were gone further ahead and came back at the sound of the fight.

            "That's enough!" Wakka said with arms folded.

            Kimahri placed his spear aside and Wakka walked up to him. Once he was by his side, Kimahri spun around and walked further ahead. Wakka came to Tidus' side as all were tracing Kimahri leaving.

            "What's with that guy?" Tidus asked arching an eyebrow.

            "Kimahri Ronso," Lulu said. "Of the Ronso Tribe. He's learned the fiend's way of fighting."

            "That's not what I meant," Tidus replied folding his arms.

            "He's another one of Yuna's guardians," Wakka told.

            "Huh?"

            "That's no reason to attack someone out of the blue like that!" Carole complained.

            "Yeah, the guy's got it bad for fighting!" Zell said.

            "Like someone I know," Rachel said with a smile.

            "Bah..."

            Yuna laughed a bit and went to them.

            "Sometimes we don't understand him either. Kimahri doesn't talk much anyway."

            She looked at everyone, reaching for her chest.

            "But he has protected me since I was a child."

            Tidus nodded. He could guess Kimahri wanted to see if he was a trained fighter who would be able to defend himself and others or if he'd be a burden along the way. He didn't know if he proved himself to him or what, but at least no one was hurt in the process.

            "Are you just gonna stand there and wait for fiends to attack or are we moving ahead?" Lulu asked in her usual cold tone.

            The others shook the surprise off and placed their weapons aside. Adam decided to walk closer to Lulu, hoping she wouldn't mind even though Dave told him it was a bad idea. For himself, he decided to walk with Tidus and ask him about Blitzball. Rachel walked with Yuna since she was her age and thought she could get along with her. Zell walked by their side, his hands behind his head. Carole found herself alone. Kerry looked at her and decided to walk by her side.

            "Were you scared?" Carole asked her as they all walked forward.

            "Huh... a bit..."

            "You have to get over it. We may encounter many stronger monsters on our way... and we might even come on that 'Sin', even though I'd rather not... after all, we don't know where to look, so we'll have to stick with these people for a while."

            "They seem nice."

            "Yeah, but there's something more to what they told us... And I don't think the others realized that yet."

            "What do you mean?"

            Carole shook her head. Yeah, what did she mean? She was feeling strange and it wasn't because she was still uneasy about being leader or scared of never finding any of their friends. She couldn't put her finger on it yet and decided it didn't matter so she wouldn't bother the others with that. She turned to Kerry and smiled.

            "Forget it. Hey, you got good instincts! You took your weapons out pretty quickly!"

            "I did it on an impulse."

            "That's good, but you must always figure if you're threatened or not. If someone comes behind you to surprise you, you may attack him and hurt him bad or even kill him. So you must always stay focused no matter what. You have to feel threats and sort them from friendly intentions."

            "It sounds complicated!"

            "I know, but that's how it works."

            Carole scratched the back of her head.

            "Maybe I'm not fit to be an instructor... I'm better on the battlefield or so it seems."

            Some fiends attacked on the front so Adam, Lulu, Dave and Tidus took care of them. Lulu wasn't annoyed by Adam. He figured she wasn't the kind who likes to speak a lot so he just walked by her side and kept silent. She didn't seem to quite believe they were from another world so he decided not to talk about it.

            Carole was listening to the waterfall as they walked on a small bridge over a river. She missed her home, her friends, Miaka and Gackt who stayed behind. She must have been so worried! She missed her usual cheerful 'Carole-chan!'

            She looked at Kerry who was looking back at her and thought that she was to pity a bit more. She didn't even took a first class of Garden yet and she was thrown on the battlefield. Carole was now 18 and to her, Kerry was still a kid... but a kid not to be taken lightly.

            She suddenly lightened up like she had an idea.

            "Hey, I just thought of something. Back home, I have a friend whom everyone calls Miaka, it's a nickname. But I call her Mia-chan and she calls me Carole-chan."

            "Why?"

            "'Chan' is a word you place after a name for a close friend in japanese. There are others, but I don't want to mess you up with them. I could call you Kerry-chan, but it's not personnal enough so... what do you say I call you K-chan?"

            "Cool! And I could... call you C-chan?"

            "Sure!"

            "Hurray!"

            Some noises disturbed them and they spun around taking their weapons out. 

            "This was threatening!" Kerry stated.

            "Yup!" Carole agreed seing the fiends behind them.

            The girls looked at each other and smiled.

            "Let's do it!" Carole exclaimed.

            "Yeah!"

            Carole took care of a dog monster and Kerry tried her luck against the bird. With her knives held like scisors, she didn't have trouble reaching it. She swung both her weapons forward and cut the bird in half. It faded in those green lights fiends always faded in. She stood up and turned her head to Carole who just finished her fiend.

            "Did you see me?" Kerry asked excitedly. "Did you see that?"

            "Yes I did. You did great, K-chan!"

            The girl walked again with pride.

            Before they knew it, they were on the beach by the dock where a ship was waiting to leave. Townspeople had gathered there to wish them good luck on their journey and see them off.

            "Well, I guess that's it," Tidus said.

            It was the place he and the others ended up to when they arrived.

            Carole stared at the horizon. She still couldn't understand why only them made it on Besaid... Where could the others be? Tidus came to her side.

            "Want me to go take a look around?" he asked. "There are some places where people can step and get stuck."

            She didn't dare asking but since he was volunteering...

            "You don't mind?"

            "I'm a swimmer after all!"

            And he jumped in the water. Zell saw this and did the same.

            "Zell!" Rachel exclaimed.

            "Hey, might as well take a look around too! Since my weapon is my fists, it can't rust or anything!"

            Rachel shook her head and waited there. The others were walking ahead.

            It didn't take long until both Tidus and Zell came back ashore.

            "I only got this," Tidus said showing some kind of a crest with the shape of the moon."

            "I didn't see anyone or anything worth taking with us."

            "Too bad, are we leaving, now?" Rachel asked getting impatient. "Everyone's waiting for us."

            It wasn't really true. The townspeople were saying good-bye to Yuna, giving her some items for her journey. The others quickly caught up with them and stepped on the boat.

            "What did you do?" Adam asked trying to stay far from Tidus and Zell not to get wet.

            "A last minute bath," Zell joked drying his hair with his hand.

            "Took a last look around," Tidus said.

            The boat was ready for departure. Yuna was leaning on the edge and waving at the people. A kid was waving back with a hand, and wiping tears away with the other. Yuna was smiling then did the prayer. The boat started heading towards the sea.

            "Good-bye," Yuna said.

            The ship headed towards the horizon slowly, taking its crew with it.

            Meanwhile, in the 'interspace', some being was smiling.

            "Let's see how they do in their first encounter with Sin..."

            She was smiling with pleasure as she kept looking at the result of her own boredom.

**Note: How was it? Did I do alright? It took me a while to write this one cause I got messed up with the leaving Besaid part. But I did fine in the end. Review please!**


	5. Chapter 4: Sin arises

A/N: Thanks to those who read this and review, I'm grateful! And I'm glad, this fic seems to be getting a little more popularity each time. Here comes the next chapter!

Chapter 4: Sin Arises 

****

            The sky was clear and the wind was refreshing. The whole gang was on the deck of the S.S. Liki. They were not used to ship travelling. They usually used closed vessels for travel so they  could never enjoy the view.

One of the ship's crew was looking at the horizon with binoculars, a bit nervously like he feared something would happen. Tidus was looking at him with an amused smile then his face changed for that of someone with something in mind. He grabbed the guy's shoulders and pushed himself off the floor to sit on his shoulders. The guy nearly lost his balance as Tidus leant forward to look at him in the binoculars.

            "Bouh!" he said with a smile.

            "What the hell's he doing?"

            "Trying to have fun, I guess," Carole answered with a smile.

            The guy was trying to get rid of Tidus. He managed to get him off, sending him on the wooden edge of the ship. Tidus crawled up to him and snatched the binoculars from him. Then he looked in them. He looked away, then on the people on the ship.

            Carole waved at him and giggled. This guy was so childish but she liked his attitude. Dave and Adam seemed to think he was a bit dumb, but he didn't have anything else to do after all.

            Tidus ran his sight over the deck and came upon a black dress, Lulu's. He brought the binoculars up slowly and stopped a moment on one specific spot (guess where?) then up to her face. She turned her head to him and seemed annoyed. Yuna walked behind her and Tidus focused on her as she pushed her hair aside. Then she turned to him and waved with a smile. The guy who owned the binoculars in the beginning took advantage of his carelessness to snatch them back. Tidus scratched the back of his head with a confused expression.

            "Heh, heh... sorry," he said.

            The guy held the binoculars close to him like he wanted to protect them from that kid.

            Tidus wanted to talk to Yuna but there were many people who wanted to see the daughter of Braska. So he went to Wakka.

            "A summoner!" someone exclaimed.

            "I heard she's lord Braska's daughter!" another one said.     

            "Wow," Kerry said still standing close to Carole. "Her father's really famous!"

            "Well, since he's the one who defeated Sin, I guess it would make someone famous," she answered.

            Tidus was asking Wakka nearly the same thing. Then the crew around Yuna scattered and Tidus decided to try his luck with her.

            She was looking at the horizon. Tidus stretched out a bit and went next to her and asked her himself about her father. He told her he knew it was hard to have a famous father, that his was too. Yuna told him that she wanted to see his Zanarkand, the tall buidings, the stadium all lit up at night...

            "How do you know that?" he asked her with surprise.

            "Sir Jecht told me everything about it. He was my father's guardian."

            Tidus's face suddenly changed for an angry one.

            "Jecht... Jecht..."

            He turned his back to Yuna.

            "Yuna... my father is Jecht."

            "Oh!"

            She prayed then walked back to him.

            "Then our encounter must be fate! I'm sure if we keep going, you can see him!"

            "He died off the coast of Zanarkand ten years ago."

            "Wait! That's exactly when sir Jecht came here! He arrived ten years and eight months ago!"

            Tidus could hardly believe it. Could it be that he was still alive?

            Carole was listening but looking elsewhere to let others think she wasn't listening.

            "Overhearing is bad," someone said behind her.

            She spun around then let out a sigh of relief.

            "Don't ever do that again, Dave!" she said laughing.

            "What did you learn?"

            "It seems Tidus' father arrived here ten years ago and became Yuna's father's guardian."

            She looked around.

            "Where's Adam?"

            "Went in cabin. Said he wasn't feeling well."

            "Seasick?" Carole asked giggling.

            Dave shrugged.

            On the other side of the ship, Zell was trying passes with the Aurochs with Rachel as audience when the ship suddenly shook badly.

            Carole nearly fell but Dave caught her and helped her back on her feet.

            "What happened?" she asked looking around.

            Kerry was holding the edge.

            "What is it?"

            The ship was shaking and huge waves formed around it, threatening to sink it.

            Tidus was holding Yuna's hand as the ship was going messy. But he dropped her. She fell for the harpoon launcher by the edge and grabbed it. But she couldn't hold it.

            "Yuna!" Tidus exclaimed.

            With great agility, Kimahri jumped and reached her to gently and carefully help her back on her feet.

            "Sin!" someone screamed.

            A gigantic fin broke the surface.

            "What the hell?" Zell exclaimed as he had come to join the others with Rachel.

            "What the fuck is that??"

            "That's Sin?" Adam asked with wide eyes as he arrived.

            "No, I think it's just a fin, like a shark," Carole said.

            Kerry turned to her with fear on her face.

            "So that means the thing is...."

            "Huge, I guess!"

            "It's heading for Kilika!" someone yelled.

            One of the crew hurried to a cannon, and prepared to fire.

            "Wait!" Wakka warned. "If you shoot a harpoon in it..."

            They would all be dragged along and probably sink.

            "Our families are in Kilika," the man said. "Forgive us, Lady Summoner..."

            Yuna nodded, knowing they had to protect their homes so both cannon shot. Only one harpoon reached it's target. The other one ran straigth in the water.

            The cable extended and the shock pulled the ship front first towards the water. This harpoon could maybe slow the thing down but certainly not stop it forever. It was swimming back and forth to get free, but to no good yet.

            "Let's fight!" Tidus exclaimed taking his Brotherhood out.

            Everyone did the same but most wondered what they could do against that thing. Especially those with close range weapons, which was nearly everyone! Only Wakka and Adam had long range weapons and Lulu could use magic... That's it! Magics!

            Figuring what she had in mind, Rachel looked at her sister.

            "Do you think we should? It seems only mages use magic here..."

            "But they know we're not from around here, don't they?" Zell asked.

            "Them yes, the crew, I doubt it."

            "They're too busy trying to keep Sin away or panicing around the place anyway, so let's just kick that thing's butt!"

            "Then let's just avoid summoning," Carole said readying her weapon.

            She thought of firing at it, but it was hard to aim with a gunblade only to fire. Normally, it was to fire at contact which was pretty closer than twenty meters away. And she also feared her aiming would be wrong and end up hurting someone close.

            The fin was pulling them forward. They all stood ready. Wakka threw his ball at it and the ball was bounced back to him with minor damage. That was not the way to beat it. Lulu cast a thunder spell which was more effective. Carole was junctionned with thundaga spells but she thought she might just wait for Lulu to cast again and cast in the same time to be unnoticed.

            Something strange happened at the fin. It seems something was moving on it. Small kind of cocoons broke apart from it and flew to the deck right in front of them.

            "What the?" Rachel started.

            "Leave these to the close range fighters!" Tidus suggested getting ready for those.

            Kerry followed him forward and attacked with her twin knives, slashing it hard, but not enough to break it apart. The small creatures attacked Kerry. It was actually the first time she was attacked by a monster and she didn't like the painful feeling at all. But right after, she felt her wound closing as a warm light surrounded her. She turned around and saw Yuna finishing a cure spell.

            "Thank you, Lady Yuna!" she said with a warm smile. 

            Yuna bowed then turned around to see if more people needed recovery.

            Adam was aiming real carefully at the fin and shooting the best he could. He may have been a good archer, the fin was still pretty far and the ship was moving. Plus he wouldn't have spare arrows forever...

            Dave was covering the rear with Rachel and Zell as more creatures came behind them.

            Suddenly, the fin turned around to go beside the ship, coming closer to them as the cannon turned around as well. 

            "Alright!"

            Carole managed to reach out to it and pull the trigger at the right time. To her surprise, some pieces of the outer armor were shattered.

            "Aim at that spot!" she told the others. "It's skin is now unprotected at that spot!"

            "Good work!" Tidus exclaimed after getting rid of another nuisance.

            Adam used more than half of his arrows, Yuna kept casting cure spells, Rachel slashed the open wound on the fin and Kimahri had the time to give it a shot until the fin moved back to the front of the ship again.

            "It's getting weaker, ya?" Wakka asked hopefully.

            _How can something that big be weakened by attacking a single fin? _Carole wondered. _It's like scratching someone's nail until it breaks through to reach the skin... It's annoying! We might only drive it mad!_

Lulu gave another shot of Thunder and Carole quickly cast a Thundaga over it. Lulu noticed, of course, her own spell wasn't that powerful. But Carole was still surprised by it. She usually kept her magic junctionned to boost her statuses but she didn't thought it was that powerful! She never really used it before but as she cast it, she felt a strange wave of energy gather in her. Thinking about it, it was scary...

            Her thoughts were disturbed as the ship started shaking dangerously, threatening to break into pieces, but luckily, only the cannon broke away and the fin sank into the water.

            Everyone was holding onto something, onto each other not to get thrown overboard as the sea calmed down. They looked around.

            "Everyone alright?" Tidus asked looking at the horizon in case it would come back.

            "I'm fine," Kerry answered by Tidus.

            He has been holding her since she wasn't very strong to hold herself.

            "I'm here," Rachel said held by Zell.

            "A...alright," Yuna said a bit shocked.

            Kimahri was standing close, Wakka and Lulu not too far.

            "Still here," Dave said.

            "Me too," Adam added.

            Kerry looked around and grew nervous.

            "C-chan?"

            Everyone else started looking around too. They saw something on the deck and feared they knew what it was.

            "That's Carole's gunblade!" Rachel exclaimed.

            Everyone hurried to the edge of the ship next to the gunblade and looked overboard with fear.

            "C-chan!!!" Kerry called with despair.

            "Carole!" Adam called scanning the surface of the water.

            Nothing, the waves were only disturbed  by the ship's movements.

            Rachel was shaking her head.

            "When did that happen?"

            "It's not by standing here we'll find out!" Tidus exclaimed.

            He jumped overboard and dived into the water.

            "Ah!" Yuna said as she reached out.

            But Kimahri held her and shook his head. Then everyone stared at the water, hoping to see two heads break the surface safely, and soon...

            Underwater, Carole was sinking.

            _I feel numb... What happened... Oh yeah, I hit my head and fell overboard. I can't move... I'm gonna drown... Funny, I'm not scared or even worried... What does that mean?_

Her eyes were half opened but she couldn't move. Something came swimming her way and rammed her hard. Some of Sin's creatures they fought on the ship.

            She could feel the pain but couldn't do anything to defend herself. Since she was feeling the pain, it was obvious she was still alive but it wouldn't last... soon she'd be dead and it'd be all over...

            She saw a figure coming her way with a woried face. A man swimming towards her. For a minute, she thought it was Squall. Her face grew soft and a smile appeared on her face as she saw the figure heading towards her. He slashed the monsters away from her.

            _Squall...._

She fainted, unable to take anymore.

            With the fiends out of the way, Tidus quickly looked at her with amazement.

            _What the...? Who is that girl??_

She was surrounded by a faint red aura.Did she cast a protect spell on herself? He saw her use a Thundaga spell, he woundered if she was a mage but she didn't look like it since mages don't usually fight with great weapons for what he knew of Spira.

            He carefully touched her arm but it didn't do anything to him. On the contrary it caused the aura to vanish and he feared that maybe it was the only thing keeping her alive.

            He wrapped an arm around her and dragged her to the surface wih him.

            _Please, be okay! You still have your friends to find remember?And the one you love too!_

They broke the surface by the ship and everyone let out sighs of relief.

            "Is she alright?" Yuna inquired.

            "I don't know," Tidus answered. "But she doesn't seem too well to me."

            "Hand her to me," Adam said extending a hand down.

            Dave did the same.

            Tidus tried to lift her up, not that she was heavy but that he had to grab her to lift her up. He never really had a girl this close. And that she was soaking wet wasn't too good on him too. Her top was plastered on her chest revealing a lot. Tidus blushed and pushed her up the best he could.

            Dave and Adam managed to take her arms and pull her up on the deck. Rachel pushed them aside.

            "Let me check."

            She bent on her chest and listened to her heart beat. It was normal. Then she placed her face over hers to feel a breathing. There was one.

            "She's fine. She's just fainted."

            In the water, Tidus let out a sigh of relief and decided to keep secret what he saw underwater.

            Yuna looked overboard at him with a smile then it disappeared as she saw something close to Tidus.

            "Watch out!" she warned pointing the thing.

            Tidus looked around him. A shadow was spreading around him. He placed his head underwater to look then brought it back up, shaking water away from his face and hair.

            "Uh oh. A fiend, and a big one!"

            "Probably a Sin's spawn," Lulu explained. "If we leave it, it may attack us."

            "And Sin will come back," Yuna said. "Sin always comes back for it's spawns."

            "Then I'll get rid of it," Tidus decided. "If anyone wants to give me a hand, you're welcome."

            And he disappeared underwater. Wakka jumped overboard and the others looked at each other. Rachel couldn't fight underwater, her axe wasn't made for it. Adam's arrows would probably lose themselves underwater. Kerry was a bit scared and no one wanted to force her into an underwater fight. Plus, they didn't know how long this fiend would take to be defeated so they didn't know if they'd be able to stay underwater for a long time.

            Finally, Dave volunteered. He said he wasn't a bad swimmer and that he could hold his breath for some time. His blade was made in a stainless steel so it wouldn't rust.

            "Are you sure?" Adam asked his cousin.

            "I don't wanna stay here doing nothing, I'm going."

            He jumped and disappeared underwater.

            "Ugh..."

            Kerry and Rachel turned to Carole as she was slowly sitting up holding her head with a frown on her face.

            "Ouch that hurts..."

            "Stay still, you hit your head," Rachel advised.

            "You really scared the hell outta us!" Zell said with a smile.

            "Don't ever do that again!" Adam added.

            "Yeah, like I did it on purpose!" Carole replied with a smile.

            Kerry gave her a hug.

            "I was so scared! I thought you would die!"

            "Even if I did , the others were all here, there was nothing to worry about."

            "What are you talking about?" Lulu asked.

            "I'm a SeeD, I'm always prepared to die."

            Rachel slapped her.

            "Don't you ever think like that again!! We're all going home together after we find the others! You have to find Squall, remember?"

            Carole rubbed her cheek. _That's right... Squall..._

            She got up and looked overboard. Was it really him she saw? Him who saved her? She turned towards the others.

            "Who got me out of the water?" she asked rubbing the bump in the back of her head.

            "Tidus did," Yuna answered. "He jumped right away when we figured out you fell."

            Carole looked around to thank him.

            "Where is he? And Wakka?"

            "It seems a fiend was left behind by Sin and they went to fight it underwater with your other friend," Lulu explained.

            "Dave," Yuna said.

            "What?"

            Carole bent over to look at the surface of the water.

            "He's crazy! He's not used to this kind of fighting!"

            "I think he's gonna do fine," Adam reassured her. "He would never place himself in a dangerous situation without telling Quistis first."

            "Well, he just did..." Zell whispered.

            While everyone was waiting for Tidus, Wakka and Dave to come back hopefully successful, Sin still headed towards Kilika and nearly blew the town away along with lots of people. Nearly half of the population was wiped out, men, women, children. And almost every houses were torn apart. When Sin reaches a town, it rarely leaves anything of it...

            "This is getting more interresting with each passing minute! I didn't know the girl was one! What a surprise!"

            The entity folded her arms.

            "I think I'm gonna enjoy messing with her mind! These people are really entertaining!"

            Like she didn't have anything better to do, she kept looking at the scenery.

A/N: So? Took me long enough heh? Did you like it? Are you getting annoyed by that entity? That god or whatever you want to call her? I'm the author and she annoys me! And what did happen to Carole underwater? Of course it's on purpose I didn't tell! Hehe try and guess or look up to the next chapters!


	6. Chapter 5: The Sending

A/N: Hi! Here comes the next chapter! I would like to thank everyone who reviewed so far. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, you're what keep me going.

_I don't want to spoil the fun but I was asked when we'd see Squall's group... hum, maybe it was mis spelled. In the beginning, there is Carole, Zell, Rachel, Dave, Adam and Kerry. According to the prequel (Whatever, you're such a pain!) there're all part of Squall's group! But if the question was more like when we'll see THE REST of Squall's group, well, I'll say the main group was split in three when they were thrown on Spira. We're following the first group, the next group will be found in Luca and the last one close to Mi'ihen, around operation Mi'ihen, so be patient! But I'm not telling who we'll find where, you'll have to read it to find out! Enjoy!_

Chapter 5: The Sending 

****

            The S.S. Liki docked at Kilika some time later. As the crew disembarked, their eyes were locked on the desolated scenery. People crying around the devastated town, remains of houses floating on the surface of water, and some other houses miraculously still standing.

            Some survivors hurried to the crew as they caught sight of Yuna.

            "Our loved ones! They're gonna turn into fiends!"

            "If you have no other summoner, allow me to perform the sending," Yuna offered bowing.  
            "Would you?"

            "Take me to them."

            The remaining townspeople lead the group into the town.

            "Hey, what's a 'Sending'?" Kerry asked Carole in a whisper.

            She wished she'd know but she was clueless. She looked around and saw her friends were just like her. Even Tidus was, also trying to ask but everyone seemed strangely calm around them, relieved and maybe a little bit nervous too.

            They walked through the place to the back of the town and by the sea. There was something under the surface of the water which looked like coffins. Yuna talked with the people on the dock.

            "What's a sending?" Tidus asked Lulu.

            Carole was about to ask the same thing too.

            Lulu spoke about when people die with uneasy minds, they can miss their way to the farplane where the dead are supposed to go and become fiends that prey on the living. A sending is performed by summoners to lead the dead to the farplane.

            Zell scratched the back of his head. That was something not occuring in their world. Monsters came from the moon back home and in Spira, from people dying unclean death.

Yuna walked forward on the water... and she floated on the surface!

"No way!" Dave exclaimed.

            "How does she do that?" Kerry asked.

            "Shh!" Rachel asked them seeind everyone was looking pretty serious.

            Once Yuna was in the middle of the circle of coffins, she stopped then started spinning her staff around on the water surface, swiftly, gracefully in some kind of dance state.

            Kimahri had his arms folded, Lulu was looking at Yuna dancing just like Wakka and Tidus was staring just like the others. The townspeople were crying around the deck. Suddenly, as Yuna was spinning on herself, the water rose under her, lifting her up and green lights came from the water around her. Souls of the dead, departing for the farplane.

            Everyone was hypnotized by Yuna's dance. Especially Tidus. He was so into it, it seemed to him like he and Yuna were the only people there. 

            Yuna finished her dance and looked towards the horizon. Then she came back to the others. The townspeople were thanking her with a prayer.

            "I hope I did it okay," she said wiping some tears away from her eyes.

            "It was fine," Lulu said in a soft tone rubbing her head. "But try no tears next time."

            Yuna nodded. It was easy to imagine this was overwhelming. Plus it was the first time she was doing it.

            "That's another of the summoner's duty," Wakka explained. "That's why guardians are so important."

            "They must guard the summoner until the end," Lulu completed.

            "Huh... what's the end?" Tidus asked not understanding.

            Suddenly, everyone stopped talking to look at him. Zell looked around nervously. Obviously, Tidus said something he shouldn't have said...

            Lulu unfolded her arms and shook her head with a sigh.

            "Until she defeats Sin..."

            Carole frowned... it was strange... obvioulsy the simple question upseted everyone but why?

            She walked towards him.

            "What did you say?" she asked in a whisper.

            "I don't know..."

            He was still staring at Yuna.

            "That was beautiful but I could feel my heart squeeze in my chest," she said. "I didn't know any of the people who died today but I felt like crying..."

            "Yeah... I think it's not the last time we'll see Yuna do this..."

            "I think so too."

            Some time later, the remaining Besaid Aurochs were trying to make themselves useful since the ship for Luca wouldn't leave for a while. Tidus walked around town too and saved a little girl in a crumbling house. Dave, Adam and Zell also tried to make themselves useful. Rachel tried to cheer up some kids and Carole was walking around with Kerry. Tidus was supposed to meet Wakka and the others outside town to reach Kilika temple where Yuna had to get a new Aeon. Carole told them they'd stay behind and help. At first, Yuna said they could come, but the SeeD objected.

            "No use attracting attention. You already have your things to do, we wouldn't want to be in your way. You were already kind enough to let us come along, we're not asking you anything else. We'll get everything ready here, you just worry about the fiends on the road and the Aeon in the temple.'

            "Alright, see ya later then," Tidus said waving.

            Kerry and Carole waved back and traced the leaving group a while until they were deep into the forest. Then the elder girl turned to the younger one.

            "Let's see what we can do."

            As they stepped into the forest, Yuna turned to Tidus.

            "I really want you to stay around all the time," she said with a smile.

            _Huh? What is she talking about?_

"What I'm trying to say is... I would like you to be my Guardian."

            "Wow, wow, wow!" Wakka cut in. "He may be a good Blitzer but around Fiends, he's a newbie."

            "Hey, I'm not that bad!" Tidus replied a bit offended.

            "But maybe I asked too soon," Yuna said shyly.

            "When he's better, we can think about it again," Lulu said.

            And they stepped into the forest on the way to the temple.

            They came back some time later after Yuna aquired Ifrit in the temple. They also had to fight a Sin spawn on the way and Tidus gave his all to prove he was worthy of becoming a Guardian.

            "Should we tell the others we're leaving?" Yuna asked.

            "I think so," Lulu said. "They'd be mad if they'd miss the boat."

            "Yuna, you go to the boat ahead with Kimahri and we'll get the others," Wakka said.

            "Okay."

            Yuna and Kimahri headed to the docks while the others split up to look for the rest of the gang. Wakka found his team repairing a bridge with Dave, Lulu found Zell helping clear junk with Rachel and Adam and Tidus was still looking around when he came upon Carole and Kerry. They managed to buy some stuff for the journey and their money was just the same than back home.

            Tidus remained silent for a while seeing the elder girl teach the younger one some moves to attack. She was defending with her gunblade while Kerry was attacking with her twin knives.

            "You have to be more aggressive!" Carole said with a frown. "The fiends won't hold back on you!"

            "But... I don't want to hurt you..."

            Carole smiled.

            "If you manage to hurt me, you'll have earn it! Don't forget who I am!"

            Kerry giggled and dashed. Carole blocked easily but still had a smile.

            "That's better, keep going!"

            Kerry turned around Carole who brought her gunblade higher to block the blow.

            "Don't use both your blades in the same time, K-chan! Use them seperately!"

            "O... okay!"

            She tried nervously at first to slash with an arm and thrust with the other but too slowly so Carole easily blocked both. But then she frowned with determination and nearly did the same thing. She feinted her and caught her by surprise, Carole widened her eyes but Kerry stopped at the last minute.

            "Good! Very good!" Carole praised.

            "You let me do that, didn't you?"

            "Nope!" Carole answered shaking her head. "You got me fair and square. Maybe I'm rusting up a little..."

            "I can help you with that if you want," Tidus finally came in with the brotherhood in hand.

            Carole turned to him and smiled.

            "How long have you been there?"

            "Long enough. I can see you're in the military, you really rely on strategy."

            "Of course. K-chan's doing so great she could probably take the SeeD exam right when we get home!"

            Kerry blushed and lowered her head.

            "I'm far from that..."

            "Not that far, really. I may not be a bright teacher, but I know what I know. I'm just showing you what brought me to where I am now."

            "Sorry to interrupt, but we're leaving soon," Tidus said.

            "It's alright, we were done."

            She sheated her gunblade and Kerry sheated both her knives on her back, then they followed Tidus' lead.

            "So did you get an Aeon?"

            Tidus told them what happened on the road and in the temple, that he was left out because he's not a Guardian but that another summoner and her Guardian threw him in. That they also met some members of another Blitzball team and that they were rude on them, making fun of the Aurochs.

            "Some people are like that," Carole answered recalling the rumors she once heard about her having no leadership qualities during the Great Battle.

            They arrived to the ship as it was about to leave. Everyone was onboard so it started leaving towards Luca, the second biggest city in the world. Tidus could hardly wait to get there.

            The ship travelled at night. Most of the team was in cabin, dozing or relaxing. Carole couldn't help worry about the others, where they ended up to, if they were alright... And mostly, what about Squall? She couldn't help fearing he'd be back with Rinoa when she'd find him. She slapped herself for having such thoughts. Maybe Squall was thinking the same about her wherever he was. The thing about love is trust, mostly. If you can't trust each other, it'll fail.

            She heard some stepping so she looked around and saw Tidus going up to the deck so she decided to follow. She told him everything about her world, he could tell her about his too.

            There was some talking upper, Lulu and Wakka talking about Tidus. He was overhearing, but she couldn't hear anything, she was too far. They were talking about leaving him in Luca and keep going with the pilgrimage but it seemed Wakka was attached to him, plus Yuna wanted him a Guardian, which was a problem.

            Deciding he heard enough, Tidus went elsewhere, on the back of the ship where a blitzball was left alone. Tidus placed a foot on it and recalled something. When he was a kid and practicing with a ball, he was often missing his kicks and then Jecht would arrive.

            "Trying to follow in my footsteps, are ya? I usually charge for lessons, you know."

            He brought the ball up.

            "This shot is done like this!"

            He kicked the ball which was bounced back at him, then he punched it and it bounced back high in the air. Jecht jumped and started spinning real fast then he kicked it far away at incredible speed.

            "You can't do it kid!"

            He came back on the ground.

            "But don't worry, you're not the only one! I'm the best!"

            And he started laughing.

            Tidus frowned. Yes, he'd try the almighty Jecht shot that his father invented and that no one was ever able to do! Maybe he'd stand a chance being his son. But his mind was disturbed by some of the things Jecht used to tell him. He tried to stay focus and started. Hiding, Carole didn't want to miss that. From his face, she could guess it was his first time.

            _You can't do it, kid, no one can_

_            You're out of your league_

_            I'm the best!_

Tidus managed to push these aside, punch the ball to bounce back high then jumped and started spinning. Then he brought his leg to kick and... the ball flew far away across the sea.

            Tidus widened his eyes.

            "Huh! The best huh? Yeah right!"

            Carole was about to come out but someone else did.

            "Wow! That was awesome!" Wakka said wrapping an arm around Tidus' neck.

            The whole team was there.

            "How do you call that?"

            "It doesn't have a name," Tidus lied. "Anyone can do it if they try!"

            "Can you do it again?"

            Tidus focused and did it one more time with a spare ball.

            The team was in awe as they all tried to do it too.

            "That was the Jecht shot, wasn't it?" a voice asked.

            Tidus turned around and saw Yuna smiling at him.

            "How do you know?"

            "Sir Jecht showed me ten years ago."

            She covered a giggle.

            Then she started saying that Jecht called that shot an impossible name mark 3 and Tidus replied saying there were no mark 1 or 2, it was just to hook the crowd back. And they did come back.

            Carole smiled. Even though Tidus didn't like his father, he was always talking about him. Maybe jealousy? She felt like she didn't have her place there at the moment. Looking at Tidus and Yuna talking together, Yuna smiling, she felt a bit sad. She missed Squall.

            "You okay?" a voice asked as someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

            She spun around like she thought Squall was there, but it was Dave. It seemed he was always there for a reason...

            "How do you that?" she asked.

            "Do what?" he asked back not understanding.

            "Appear everytime I feel... alone. Everytime I miss Squall..."

            "Maybe because I also miss someone."

            That's true, Dave was dating Quistis. She wasn't the only one who lost her loved one. Adam lost Rinoa, Dave lost Quistis.... Only Rachel and Zell were lucky enough to end up in the same place.

            "We'll find them all, won't we?" she asked looking at Tidus and Yuna still talking.

            "I hope so, but I'm trying not to think too much about it in case it would mess me up. I have to stay focus in case of a surprise attack."

            "Have you ever thought of entering SeeD?"

            "Quistis didn't tell you?"

            "What?"

            "At the party, she asked headmaster Cid to make an exception and let me register."

            Usually, over 19, people were too old to enter SeeD, and Dave was 20 already.

            "I didn't know about it!" Carole said a bit mad. "Squall must have known, after all, he's the Leader!"

            "Come on, don't get mad, maybe he just wanted to keep it secret since usually people don't do that."

            "Maybe..."

            Dave strecthed up and his muscles cracked.

            "I should go to bed I guess. You should too, we don't know what awaits us."

            "You're right, I'll come down in a minute."

            He comfortingly pressed her shoulder then went downstairs to their cabin. 

            Carole turned back to the others. Wakka and his team decided they had to go to bed since they had a game the next day. Yuna also decided to call it a night and they all left except Tidus who wanted to enjoy the night view a little more. The SeeD girl decided to talk to him. She wanted to know more. She even had her gunblade in case he'd want to spar a little.

            "Hey," she said.

            He turned around perfectly calm like he knew she was there all along.

            "Couldn't sleep?" he asked turning to the horizon again.

            "To be honest, I followed you."

            "I thought so, I saw you back there."

            "Maybe I should work on my discretion some more," she said with a smile.

            Some wind blew her hair back and she closed her eyes. She shivered but she wasn't cold, even though she left her jacket downstairs. She could see Tidus blushing and could hardly believe it. If he was so popular, he must have had all kinds of girls around him. 

            He stretched out a bit.

            "Do you have a girlfriend?"

            He nearly lost his balance but could keep it.

            "Wh... no, no, why?"

            "Just asking. Ever had one?"

            He looked away.

            "No, but why are you asking?"

            She closened in on him, amused by his uneasiness.

            "What about Yuna?"

            "She's cute and all, but she wants me a Guardian because I'm so strong, nothing personnal!"

            "Yeah right," she said giggling elbowing him in the ribs. "Don't tell me you haven't dreamed of her yet!"

            Tidus blushed a little more. He did yes, he dreamed that he would go far away with her but then another girl showed up saying he was going with her, then his father came to make fun of him, saying he'd never get a girl.

            Seeing the changes on his face, she decided to push a little farther. She hugged him tight.

            "Oh, please don't leave me ever! Become my Guardian!"

            "Hey, let go!" he said trying to push her away without too much effort.

            He was smiling. That's what she wanted. Since she wasn't feeling well, she wanted everyone to be happy around her.

            She pressed herself against him, and rubbed her head on his shoulder. He was nearly as tall as Squall was. Maybe a little taller. Then she didn't feel like playing anymore. She just grabbed him and held on tight. Tidus noticed the change and kept quiet. Carole felt a ball get stuck in her throat.

            "Are you alright?" he asked in a soft tone.

            She held his arm tighter.

            "I don't know... something just came over me and..."

            A strange warmth suddenly surrounded her. Tidus hugged her. She widened her eyes in surprise and looked up to him. He gave her back an uneasy smile.

            "I didn't know what else to do..."

            "That's fine," she said and pressed her cheek against his chest. 

            He was warm. She could hear his heart beat hard in his chest. What would Squall think if he'd see her like that? She wasn't thinking anything, just needed comfort and Tidus was giving her some even though he obviously wasn't used to it.

            He was wondering how long he should hold her. He was uneasy but he never really did that before! He used to get lots of girls attracted to him, flirting with him and all but only because he was the star player of the Zanarkand Abes. But this girl was looking for comfort with a guy she barely knew but felt attached to somehow. Because of him, not for who he was.

            "Thank you," she whispered.

            "It's alright, stay like this as long as you want!"

            She clenched his arm. He was so kind.

            "You know, I think you have a chance with Yuna."

            "Why are you saying that?"

            "Because I believe it! I think you're so kind, she won't have a choice but to agree if you ask her out!"

            She smiled at him and he smiled back.

            "That's better. I don't want to see you sad, it doesn't suit you."

            It rang a bell in Carole's mind. Squall said it too in the past. Even though they were different, they agreed on that point. Maybe it was true after all.

            She started breaking apart from his grip.

            "You alright?"

            "Much better, thank you. I have to stay strong if I want to find him!"

            She clenched his forearm and something came over her. A wave of heat and dizziness came on her. Her eyes went blank as she saw something that wasn't there. She saw a faint image of Yuna crying and Tidus in front of her.

            Her head was spinning with images of water, Tidus and Yuna together.

            She lost her balance and collapsed.

            "Hey, what's wrong?" Tidus asked her.

            She shook her head. It was gone. 

            "I... I don't know," she said with a trembling voice.

            She held her face.

            _What was that? A vision? How? Tidus and Yuna? Or did I just imagine it?_

She looked at him and smiled a reassuring way.

            "I guess I'm tired..."

            "I'll help you down. I have to go sleep too. After all, Wakka's counting on me for the game tomorrow!"

            He helped her up. She was wondering what just happened to her and Tidus was wondering what she was hiding from him. Both headed downstairs to reach their respective cabin.

            Someone was watching the scene and smiling widely. It was getting real interresting. She could hardly contain her pleasure.

            "She has no control over it, incredible... I don't know how that happened but it's real fun! Will Sin kill them or will she get berserk and do it herself? There is so much I don't know!"

            She gestured and the image in front of her faded. She spun around, making her tight leather clothing squeek.

            "Soon, real soon, I'll join you all. Then the fun will start!"

            _A/N: I got real confused around here but I finally did it... was it too much? I mean the thing with Tidus? I think it's cute and I don't want comments about him being out of character! Since I'm there with him, the story's already different. Different people, different behavior, think of it like that. Review please and tell me if anything's wrong!_


	7. Chapter 6: The face of Evil

Chapter 6: The Face of Evil 

****

            "C-chan! Wake up!"

            Kerry was shaking her 'instructor' out of slumber-land quite roughly.

            "K-chan, what is it?" Carole asked rubbing her eyes from remains of the night.

            "We're there! Luca's in view!"

            Carole froze a moment then got up. Everyone around her was getting up as well, ready to start that day. They grabbed their things, including weapons, put them in place and hurried out of the cabin and upstairs to the deck then to the front of the ship. Tidus was already there as they were approaching the docks. He was staring at the city so full of life with a wide smile.

            "Wow!" Rachel said looking around.

            Tidus turned to the newly arrived people.

            "That's where the tournament is held?"

            "Yup!" Wakka answered. 

            Carole was looking in the same awe than Tidus was. This city was big. Far from the technology of Esthar but still much bigger than Balamb where she lived. Lots of people were walking around, excited with the tournament. She clenched her necklace. A city full of people, maybe there was a chance they'd meet their friends there. Or at least meet someone who saw them.

            Tidus left the edge of the ship and walked to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and clenched it comfortingly.

            "I hope we can all find people we know here."

            "You're looking for someone too?"

            "Well, Wakka's sure I'm under the influence of Sin's toxin and that since Luca is big that maybe someone will know me here..."

            "Who knows! Let's keep our fingers crossed!"

            The ship was slowly approaching the docks of Luca until it reached it and stopped completely. There were people holding cameras and microphones and some kind of journalists ready to greet the blitzball teams. They were giving comments as the teams disembarked from the SS Winno. The Al Behd Psyches disembarked, all the way from their place, the Luca Goers, the local favorite team and champion, then the Besaid Aurochs who were badly introduced as the worst team ever. It seemed this day was also celebrating Maester Mika's 50 years of services as a Maester. What was a Maester, Carole and her friends had no idea, they were too busy watching Tidus giving a show.

            He climbed on the top of a pile of crates with a megaphone and pointed it towards the Goers.

            "Stop right there, Goers!"

            Everyone around kept quiet and turned to him.

            "You look all proud and sure of yourself now but not for long! Cause this year, we Aurochs are taking the cup!"

            And he laughed at them, then came down. Wakka was shaking his head.

            "What were you doin' up there?"

            "We stood out, though!" one of the Aurochs said.

            Carole walked to Wakka.

            "Hum, Wakka, what's a Maester?"

            But before Wakka could answer her question, everyone started heading towards a neighboring dock, claiming Maester Mika has arrived.

            "Why don't you come and find it for yourself?"

            They all followed the crowd.

            "Stay close to me, K-chan."

            "Yes m'am!"

            They managed to get to the next dock where everyone had gathered. They managed to get to the near frontline and get a better view. A man with long blue strands of hair and long fingers came down. He was wearing a blue gown and dark blue sleeves but his chest was free. His face was different then other people's.

            "That's Seymour!" someone exclaimed behind them.

            "Lord Jyscal's son?"

            "Who's lord Jyscal?" Carole whispered.

            "One of the four Maesters of Yevon," Yuna explained in a whisper.

            Seymour turned to the ship and put a knee down when an old looking man started coming down. Everyone around started praying so it was obvious this man was Maester Mika. Everyone got it so they kept quiet.

            "Rise, Maester Seymour," he said to the man.

            "What's this all about?" Adam asked in a whisper.

            Dave shrugged by his side, clueless, just like him.

            It seemed that Lord Jyscal Guado passed away, and Seymour was accepted to take his place. Seymour was the son of a Guado and a human, which was a reason why Jyscal wanted all people to be together, not against each other. Jyscal brought the teachings of Yevon to the Guado and Seymour said that he would continue his work. Then he looked at the crowd with a smile and his eyes stopped on Yuna. He stared at her a moment then looked away and left with Mika.

            Yuna felt something run up her spine, an uneasy chill. Carole standing by her side, saw the look Seymour placed on her and frowned at Seymour. There was something with that guy. As a SeeD, she was trained to know when to trust someone, and when not to. Now was a case of untrust.

            "That man's weird," she said. "I can't see him through, he's hiding things and he's strong."

            "He's also a summoner, just like me," Yuna said. "His father was really respected among the Guados and I'm sure he'll be too."

            "I agree with Carole, the guy's bad news!" Tidus commented.

            "Don't say that, you could get in trouble!" Wakka warned.

            The crowd started spreading around while Zell was rolling his eyes.

            "Come on, don't tell me you trust that guy!"

            "It's not the point," Lulu answered. "He's a Maester of Yevon, Maesters are spreading the teachings and we respect them."

            "Bullshit," Rachel commented. "We don't worship any gods back home, and we're doing just fine!"

            "You forgot Hyne," Dave reminded.

            "Hyne's a legend, not a god!"

            "You don't have gods? No wonder you spend your whole lives fighting!"

            "Well, our monsters are not born from dead people, they come from the moon at regular times!" Dave said.

            Everyone was frowning at everyone except Yuna, Tidus, Carole and Kerry. Even Kimahri was but wasn't he always?

            "Please, guys, stop it!" she plead. 

            "Yeah, it's not the time to fight amongst ourselves, we have business to attend to!" Tidus added.

            "Ya, we have a game to play, then we head on with the pilgrimage," Wakka said still frowning.

            "We have our friends to find," Dave reminded. "Since we all got separate business, we'll take our leave of you."

            Carole stared at him and at the others. They all seemed to agree. _Already? Can't we stick together a little longer?_

"Since we obviously don't share the same interrests, we'll only end up arguing again," Lulu commented.

            "Let's go then," Rachel called turning her back to them.

            Zell gave a last look at the others then followed her. Adam looked at Lulu a moment and didn't even say good-bye then he went after his friends, Dave following. Kerry was looking at Carole, apparently waiting for her. As Wakka, Lulu and Kimahri were all heading a different way, Tidus and Yuna remained facing Carole and Kerry.

            "I'm so sorry it came to this..." Carole apologized.

            "I guess everyone's worried about different things," Yuna said softly. "I also apologize for my guardians."

            "It's alright," Carole assured shaking her head. "I guess we do have our separate business to attend to."

            "Do you think we'll meet again?" Tidus asked hopefully.

            "Yuna!" Wakka called.

            Yuna turned to them and waved. Then she turned to Carole and Kerry and bowed.

            "It was nice meeting you. I hope we'll meet again in... better terms."

            "It was a pleasure, Yuna," Carole said bowing in front of her.

            "Good-bye Lady Yuna!" Kerry said a bit sad.

            Yuna prayed in front of them.

            "Praise be to Yevon that you find your friends."

            "Thank you."

            "Yuna!" Lulu called as well.

            She smiled at them one last time then went after her guardians. Tidus traced her a moment then turned back to Carole and Kerry, like he was wondering which group to follow. Carole smiled at him.

            "Go with them, Tidus. You have the game to play remember? Plus you don't want Yuna to miss a guardian, right?"

            Tidus scratched the back of his head.

            "I really wish it wouldn't have turned out like that..."

            "Me too, but what can we do about it? Who knows, when they cool down maybe..."

            She lowered her head and held her necklace. She didn't want to get separated from them all. They were the only people they knew in Spira, the only ones who knew their way around! Even with a map, they could still get lost.

            "I hope you find your friends and we can meet again so I can finally meet this Squall guy."

            Carole smiled.

            "Me too," she said extending her hand.

            He took it and shook it.

            "We didn't have our fight yet either," she reminded him.

            "That's right..."

            "Well... see ya then."

            They released each other then left their respective ways to join their friends.

            Kerry looked at her mentor.

            "What are we going to do?"

            Carole was frowning. She was pretty angry.

            "First, I'm gonna kick some butts!"

            She was walking so fast Kerry had a hard time keeping up with her. It didn't take long until she caught up with the others who didn't even wait for her. She caught them near the entrance of the stadium. She passed them, elbowing them aside so she could pass then she spun around in front of them, forcing them to stop not to bump into her. She granted them a really mad frown.

            "Oh you're such a great team are you?!" she exploded puting her fists on her hips.

            "What the hell?" Zell exclaimed.

            "Can I remind you you voted me leader? Why don't you listen to me then? Why do you leave without me telling you to? If that's all I get for being leader then..."

            She took a deep breath then fired lasers at them with her eyes (figure of speech).

            "Then I quit!" she stated swinging her arm out.

            "What?" Adam exclaimed shocked.

            "Why is that?" Dave asked.

            "Because I failed! I thought we could get along with other people who seemed kind enough to try and help us but... It seemed some of us couldn't..."

            "Hey, I'll make you notice that we didn't do anything! Wakka started yelling at us for not worshipping gods and all!" Rachel said getting mad.

            "Because you didn't tell them their teachings was bullshit, maybe? If worshiping Yevon and blindly follow everything it says makes them happy, it's their own choice! You couldn't just say that you're different but that doesn't mean you can't get along? That's what I mean, I failed! I'm a failure as a leader and probably as everything else!"

            "It's not true!" Kerry exclaimed. "You're a wonderful instructor!"

            Carole smiled at the girl.

            "Thanks, at least someone here pays attention to what I say!"

            Carole spun around and started going away.

            "Wait, where're you going?" Adam asked.

            "Why do you care? I'm going in town... You can do what you want, I'm not stopping you since I'm not your leader anymore..."

            She was hiding her tears. Why was everything so complicated in Spira? Why was everything so complicated when Squall wasn't around? At least they used to listen to him!

            She walked towards the town.

            Kerry turned to the others, a bit nervous but still frowning.

            "You're mean, did you know that? I thought she was your friend! She never asked for the leader part, you forced her to it! I did too, but I believe in her! She's worried about everyone but the only thing you care about is arguing with the only friends we had here? You should be ashamed!"

            She ran after Carole, determined not to leave her alone.

            Rachel turned to the others, confused.

            "What do we do now?"

            "I think we went too far, man," Zell said. "It's true we didn't listen to her..."

            "And it's not true she's a failure!" Adam stated.

            "That's right!" Rachel agreed. "Squall also believed in her like all her team in The Great Battle! She did real great and here we are arguing and ignoring her!"

            "I feel bad, but Wakka really got on my nerves!" Dave said.

            "But think of it that way," Rachel started. "We're foreigners here, we don't belong here and we should abide by this world's rules for the time we're here. It wasn't time to argue about religious things..."

            "What do we do, then?" Adam asked. "We go after her?"

            "No, we search the city like we were supposed to. Then we'll get Carole, and maybe Tidus and the others too."

            "Alright!" everyone said.

            They agreed on going separate ways and meet back in front of the stadium an hour later, maybe make it to see the game and apologize to the others. If they'd come upon Carole, they'd just try and convince her to come back. They knew that at least, as long as Kerry would be with her, they'd both be safe. Carole was a great fighter and she'd never allow anything bad to happen to Kerry.

            Carole was walking fast on the bridges linking the different parts of Luca together. She was heading towards the inner city where she thought she'd have better chances of finding her friends. Maybe with everyone together again, they'd have better chances of staying together instead of breaking apart upon arguments.

            "C-chan!" a voice called behind her.

            Carole lowered her head but didn't slow down.

            "Go back with the others, Kerry, it'll be safer."

            "I trust someone who cares for others more than some who care only for themselves. I'd be in danger with them, what if they start arguing while monsters attack?"

            Carole smiled and turned around, allowing Kerry to catch up.

            "They only argued with Wakka and the others, not between each other you know."

            "I don't care, I wanna stay with you! You showed me most of what I know and you care for me! They don't!"

            "You know what? You remind me of myself what seems like so long ago... It was just a few months ago in fact... I always disagreed with Garden's rules because they just didn't seem right to me. I went against my leader's command and saved his life even though it could have cost me my passing the exam."

            "Who was your leader?" Kerry asked getting interested.

            "It was Squall," Carole answered with a smile of nostalgia.

            "You saved his life?" Kerry exclaimed with shining eyes.

            "Oh, more than once, just like he did... You want to know more?"

            "Oh yes!"

            "Than let's find a place to rest and maybe drink something, I'm thirsty!"

            Both headed in town and stopped in a café to discuss. Kerry was really a way for Carole to ease her mind. Talking always helped her not to think about anything, but would talking about Squall be good on her? 

            Kerry was all ears to her mentor, saying that she was strong and good and all.

            "You know Kerry, if this keeps up you won't have to take classes when we get home, you'll be able to take the SeeD written test right away."

            "Oh, but I'm only 14, it's only at 15 that candidates can start taking the exam."

            "You've learned your lessons, it's good!"

            "Well this was in the prerequisite test for the entry exam."

            "But you remember, which is good!"

            The girls kept talking and having a bit of fun for a while.

            Meanwhile, just outside the café, someone was hiding under a black cloak, leaving only one eye out to see the surroundings.

            "I just have to see this. If their group gets dissolved even more, it won't be fun! I feel something unfriendly in this town, and it's not me!"

            She looked around with a frown, then she smiled. 

            "This will be my opportunity!"

            _A/N: Heh heh...  there was supposed to be action but it will start next chapter, sorry! This chapter proved to be longer than I thought it would at first. The idea of having them argue came to me as I was writing it. BUT!! Next chapter will have what I said it will: fights, blitzball, actions! For those who played FFX, you know what I'm talking about! Soon, we'll meet our friends too! Soon... (holding griever  necklace)_


	8. Chapter 7: Meeting

A/N : This time, it's true! The action's coming! And we meet friends! And that cloaked lady shows herself to us! No matter how long this chapter will be, it will have all that! Enjoy!

**Chapter 7: Meeting**

****

            The door of the café opened and three people came in, looking around. One guy, a girl and a Ronso.

            "I knew it was too good to be true, he's not here," the guy said.

            "Wait I'll go ask."

            The girl went to the counter and bent over to the bartender.

            "Excuse me, do you know of a man named Auron?" she asked.

            At the counter, someone turned to her.

            "Yuna?!"

            The girl turned around to see who called her.

            "Carole? How long have you been here?"

            "A while... Wow, I never thought we'd see each other that soon! Are you alone?"

            "No, Kimahri's here with me and Tidus too. We were looking for someone we both know, and Tidus wanted to make sure it was the same Auron."

            "Tidus's here?"

            Hearing his name being pronounced for a while, Tidus approached.

            "Hey, Carole! It's nice to see you again! Hi Kerry! Hey, where are your friends?"

            Carole explained what happened and Tidus rubbed the back of his head.

            "Man, that makes me feel even worst!"

            "It's not your fault. Yuna said you were looking for someone, who is it?"

            Tidus told her about a man named Auron who was a Guardian to Yuna's father ten years ago and raised Tidus from ten years ago until the day he arrived in Spira where he lost him. They thought it possible that it would be the same Auron.

            "What did he look like?"

            "Wears sunglasses, has a collar going over most of his face and a long red coat. Has a bottle of alcohol all the time with him. I don't know what's in there, but..."

            "I think I remember seeing someone like that a while ago!" Carole said.

            "Really?"

            "But I can't recall when, we were so busy talking I didn't pay attention! I'm sorry!"

            "Why not talk, Kimahri?" a voice cut them.

            In the corner of the café, Kimahri came upon two Ronsos who seemed to know him and were getting mad at him for not responding them. One was yellow and really tall and looking really strong, the other one was grey and smaller than the yellow one, but still taller than Kimahri.

            "You forgot who broke your horn?!"

            "Hornless! Hornless!"

            Kimahri got annoyed and stood ready to fight.

            "Take 'em on!" Tidus said.

            Kimahri punched the yellow one right on the face.

            "Take it outside," The bartender asked. "The game's starting soon."

            "Whoa, the game!" Tidus exclaimed slapping his forehead.

            "Hey! Lady Yuna's gone!" Kerry exclaimed looking around.

            Kimahri turned around with a worried face and never saw the yellow Ronso punch him. Kimahri frowned at him then hurried outside with Tidus, Carole and Kerry. As they came outside the café, they saw Lulu standing there, worried.

            "Where were you, Yuna was kidnapped!"

            "She was just with us!" Tidus said getting worried as well.

            Lulu caught sight of the other two girls and just nodded at them. She knew the two of them remained neutral in the past argument.

            "Who did it?" Carole asked.

            "The Al Behd Psyches. They said they want us to lose the game or they won't return Yuna!"

            "Ha, my foot!" Carole exclaimed. "I mean, everyone think the Aurochs are bad and all, why would they do that to force them to lose?"

            "I agree," Tidus said. "What good a team are the Aurochs?"

            "There's something fishy going on, and I don't like it!" Carole said frowning and folding her arms.

            Something was itching in the back of her head like she was being watched. She turned around and took a quick look but no one was paying attention. The feeling was gone.

            "We have to save her!" Kerry said.

            "That's what I wanted to do all along, I came to get Kimahri, you go join Wakka for the game."

            "No, I wanna go too!"

            "You promised Wakka, Tidus and promises should be kept. I'll go with them to save Yuna," Carole insisted.

            She turned to Lulu and Kimahri.

            "That is if you don't mind..."

            "We'd be glad to have you with us."

            "What made you change your mind about me?"

            "We talked after we got separated and we came to realize we shouldn't have gotten mad at you. You're not used to our habits and we shouldn't force them to you."

            "Even still, we should respect your habits instead of getting mad at it."

            "Are you done, yet?" Tidus cut in. "If you really want to go get Yuna, then do it now, or I'll do it myself!"

            "You're really worried about her, are you?" Carole asked with a giggle.

            "Well of course I am, we don't know anything about where she is!"

            "Probably on the dock where the Al Behd ship is."

            "So it's settled," Carole said placing her fist in her palm. "I'm going after Yuna with Lulu and Kimahri while you go take care of the game. Kerry, you go with him."

            "But I wanted to go with you!"

            "We don't know what we're up against so I would feel less worried if I'd know you're somewhere safe. I'll give you an assignement: tell the others to gather together at the stadium and join the group again. If they still want to consider me leader, then they'll obey that."

            "If they don't, I'll force them to!"

            "I know you will. Alright, let's move!"

            Carole, Lulu and Kimahri hurried towards the dock while Kerry and Tidus were heading towards the stadium.

            In the shadows, someone was breathing out.

            "She's stronger than I thought! She could almost feel my presence. I'll have to be more careful or all the fun will be ruined!"

            The shadow disappeared when two people came out of a store.

"Booyaka, what's this all about that game thing?" a small girl was hopping around a taller guy next to the café.

            "Keep it down, Sefie, Quisty told us not to attract attention!"

            "Sorry, Irvy but I just don't get it!"

            "Let's just keep looking around and not ask too many questions, maybe we can learn more. Why not go get Audrey and Quistis to see that game everyone talks about?"

            "It sounds like a big event just like the Garden Festival! Alright, let's go!"

            Kerry didn't take long until she found her friends. They were all standing in front of the registration desk, looking confused.

            "Nothing," Rachel said.

            "Same here," Adam said. "She's good at hiding when she wants to be alone huh?"

            "Yeah..." Rachel said.

            Kerry hurried to them, Tidus next to her.

            "Heeeeeeeey!!"

            The four turned to her and some hope appeared in their eyes when they saw her.

            "Kerry!" Zell called.

            The girl stopped in front of them to catch her breath. When the others caught sight of Tidus, they didn't really know what kind of attitude to take.

            "Where's Carole?" Dave asked.

            "Something happened..."

            She told them about Yuna being kidnapped and Carole leaving after her with Lulu and Kimahri.

            "She insisted on me taking the game on so she went with them," Tidus said. "I swear I didn't want to let her go."

            "Hey, hey don't apologize for soemthing SHE did!" Zell said. "That girl was always the kind to take action by herself so others don't have to do it..."

            The four remembered the Great Battle when she pretended to be the leader of Garden to keep Squall safe. 

            "There's more," Kerry started getting formal like she was a messenger of an important message. "She said that we should join the others again. That if you still want to consider her leader, you should obey."

            She was frowning like she wouldn't take a no for an answer. The other four looked at each other.

            "Of course we still want her leader, don't we?" Zell asked around.

            The other three nodded.

            "But if Wakka gets mad at us for having no religious manners..." Rachel started.

            "I think you should tell him about that," Tidus interfered. "I don't really abide by that Yevon thing myself but I don't say anything about it either."

            "I guess we'll have to make a deal," Dave stated.

            "That's settled then I guess," Tidus said. "I was going to the Aurochs locker come with me, Wakka will be there."

            They all walked around the counter and downstairs to join the locker.

            Meanwhile, on the docks, the rescuing party was being attacked by two machines.

            "What are they?" Carole asked readying her gunblade.

            "Machina," Lulu answered. "Their use is forbidden but the Al Behd use them constantly. They come from an ancient civilization."

            "Before Sin?" Carole asked.

            "Around that time."

            One of the robots attacked Carole, thrusting with one of its arms.

            "Ouch!"

            Lulu cast a thunder spell on it and it fell in pieces. Carole slashed the other one and pulled the trigger at the right time. It fell as well.

            "At least that tells us we're on the right way!" Carole said placing her gunblade on her shoulder and smiling to the others.

            Kimahri nodded. Obviously, he was worried for Yuna but he seemed to think that the gunblade girl wasn't bad. For a Ronso to think of someone else being a good fighter meant that the person was a good fighter. After all, Carole was a SeeD. Not for a long time but she trained a lot with Squall and the others.

            They followed the docks and came upon a screen hanging on the ceiling which was part of the stadium. It was showing a game in which the Aurochs were playing the Psyches. One of the Psyches tackled Wakka so hard it seemed he ended up uncouscious.

            "That's gotta hurt..." Carole stated clenching her teeth.

            On the screen, Tidus was swimming towards him to see of he was fine.

            "If the guy is as good as he said he is, he can't show it as long as the Al Behd hold Yuna..." Carole said. "We should hurry or they'll really lose the game!"

            They kept going and met three more machinas. They took care of them and finally made it to the dock where the ship was. It was leaving.

            "Hurry!" 

            Carole ran as fast as she could and jumped. She made it easily. Kimahri used his spear to push himself on the ship but with her dress, Lulu had a hard time running fast. Carole had her hand extended to her.

            "Come on!"

            Lulu jumped and Carole grabbed her hand but Lulu was barely on the deck so she was pulling Carole down with her.

            "Ugh... shit!"

            But a strong grip grabbed her other hand and pulled both of them on the deck. Carole turned to him.

            "Phew! Thanks Kimahri."

            Kimahri simply nodded then the three turned to the entrance of the vessel.

            They headed towards it but a huge Machina came out of nowhere, blocking the way. There were some kind of gears on the top of it that look a bit fragile.

            "How can we beat that thing?" Carole wondered.

            Lulu looked around then pointed something to the left.

            "Use that crane! Tear it apart!"

            "I'm on it!"

            Her gunblade held in a hand, she used the other one to try and get the thing to work but it wouldn't start.

            "Man! No power!"

            "Let me take care of that," Lulu offered. "Move aside."

            Carole obeyed and Lulu cast a thunder spell on the crane. It started shaking a bit then was silenced like it wasn't enough.

            "Alright!" Carole said readying a spell herself.

            Kimahri was trying to keep the Machina busy so the girls could get the thing to start.

            Carole readied her thundaga spell and unleashed it. Something seemed to snap in her mind but it stopped right after it started. By her side, Lulu was startled. She could have sworn she saw the girl's eyes flash red.

            The thundaga spell proved itself quite effective but still not enough. Lulu cast another thunder spell as Kimahri was taking the damage for the both of them to give them a chance. Then the machine started shaking non-stop, growling with power.

            "Right on!"

            Carole hurried to the crane to get it to work. The panel was pretty simple, she figured it out in a second. She pressed a button to activate the crane then a lever to control it. She moved it over the Machina and stopped it. Then she pressed a button to lower it and another one for the crane to close it's teeth around the top. She used the lever to lift the Machina up. With a fizing noise, the top came off and what was left of the Machina came down on the deck. Carole moved the crane over the sea and dropped the top in the water then turned it off to join her comrades. The top of the Machina was giving electric sparkles. It was damaged.

            "Now, let's finish this thing!" she said taking her gunblade in two hands.

            Kimahri slashed the thing and Lulu cast a water spell. Since it was a machine, it proved pretty effective against it. Carole dashed the thing and slashed, always pulling the trigger at the right time. The timing was very important that's why gunblades were so hard to master. For what was known, she may have been the first girl to ever master one.

            Lulu was watching her from the corner or eye, trying to cinvince herself that she imagined what she thought she saw, that nothing happened, but she could hardly do it. Carole seemed perfectly normal now. Every move she made was calculated, her eyes were showing nothing but passion as she was fighting, like it was her only purpose in life. Since she was a SeeD, it was her purpose, but to achieve her goal: find her friends, she would do anything and never let anything or anyone stand in her way.

            The Machina attacked Lulu and hurt her pretty badly. Carole turned to her and cast a Cura spell. She frowned at herself.

            _Why am I using magics so much? Normally I'd just have used an item..._

"So you use black and white magic too?" Lulu asked. "Can you summon as well?"

            "Well..." Carole started scratching the back of her head, uneasy.

            She avoided Lulu's gaze on her.

            "Where I come from, everyone can but not the way you do it."

            "Then do it... Show me."

            Carole looked at her a surprised way then nodded. 

            "But you'll have to buy me some time, summoning takes a while for us because we share our mind with it."

            "Alright."

            Lulu cast spells and Kimahri covered Carole to save her the time. Carole could have sworn she was hearing a voice inside of her, a low and weak voice, telling her not to do it. So busy focusing on the summoning, she wasn't paying much attention to it.

            Green balls appeared around her and turned around her then disappeared.

            "Move out! It will only attack then leave!" she warned.

            Kimahri jumped aside and Lulu remained in the back.

            Out of nowhere, a huge green bird spun on itself then flapped its wings in front of the Machina. From it's beak, thunder gathered and lightning struck the ground around the Machina, forming an electrical dome around it. Then from the top of the dome, lightning gathered then struck the Machina hard. The bird vanished.

            _Quezacoatl? Was it him I summoned? Silly, of course if it's him who came!_

The Machina gave off sparkles and fizzing noises. It was shaking hard then collapsed. It wouldn't work anymore.

            "Well, that wasn't too hard!" Carole said with a smile, placing a hand on her hip.

            They headed to the door but it opened before they reached it and Yuna came out. Lulu hurried to her.

            "Are you alright?" she asked with concern.

            "Yes, they didn't mean any harm to me."

            "Well, Tidus is gonna be relieved," Carole said with a wink sheating her gunblade.

            Yuna turned to her.

            "I'm glad to see you again. He was worried you said?"

            "Yeah, but I told him to get the game and I would get you."

            "Oh that's right!" Lulu recalled. 

            She hurried to the edge of the ship and formed a fireball in her hands which she threw into the air.

            "What was that?" Carole asked.

            "A signal to tell Wakka we got Yuna so he can win the game without worries."

            Yuna was looking around the ship like she was looking for something.

            "Yuna?" Lulu called.

            "I was hoping this was Cid's ship."

            "Who's Cid?" Carole asked.

            "My uncle. My mother's brother."

            "Wait, if your uncle could have been on this ship, then he's an Al Behd... So then that means that you..."

            "On my mother's side, yes."

            "Oh that's cool!"

            "Not if you think that lots of people resent the Al Behd," Lulu said. "So don't ever tell Wakka about Yuna's lineage."

            "The secret's safe with me!" Carole swore doing the SeeD salute. "I guess we should join the others again then," Carole said. 

            "Maybe we could make it to see the finals!" Yuna said joining her hands together.

            She really wanted to see Tidus play. Being Jecht's son who was a star player himself, Tidus must have been good. Yuna hoped that his presence would give the Aurochs their first victory.

            In the sphere pool, Wakka saw the signal over the stadium. Yuna was safe. He smiled then grabbed the ball thrown at him. Two Al Behd were coming his way to tackle him but he stepped on their heads and kicked the ball which entered the goal at the last second. The winning goal, 2 to 1 for the Aurochs. Hardly able to believe it, Wakka would have sighed if he wasn't underwater. Tidus smiled as the other teammates helped Wakka our of the sphere pool to the player's locker room.

            Wakka was resting on the bench when Yuna, Lulu, Kimahri and Carole came in. Wakka sat up.

            "Yuna, are ya alright?"

            "I'm fine thanks to them," she said showing her surroundings.

            Tidus walked to Carole.

            "Thank you," he whispered only for her to hear.

            "I told you I'd do it," she whispered back with a smile.

            "How did the game go?" Lulu asked.

            "We won against the Al Behd but we're playing the Goers in the finals," Tidus said.

            "They won't go easy on us, so we might be prepared." Wakka replied.

            "Oh, no you don't!" Lulu said folding her arms. "You're not in any state to play right now!"

            "Ah, I guess you're right... I'll warm the bench then..."

            "Cap'n!" the other players exclaimed.

            "It's okay, he'll play with you all," Wakka said pointing Tidus.

            Tidus nodded, ready to give his all.

            "Where's Kerry?" Carole asked.

            "She was watching the game with the others so probably in the stadium somewhere," Tidus answered.

            "She found the others? Good! I'll go join them then."

            Carole walked to the door to leave.

            "Good luck!"

            She went out and headed to the stadium seats but she didn't have to go all the way there because her friends caught up with her. They were hoping she was back.

            Kerry's face lightened up when she saw her in the hall of the locker rooms.

            "C-chan!" she exclaimed running to her.

            She hugged her tight.

            "My, has it been that long since the last time we saw each other?"

            "I was worried!"

            "I thought you would believe in me now, K-chan!" Carole replied laughing.

            She looked behind Kerry and saw Zell, Rachel, Adam and Dave standing there. They looked sorry.

            "Carole, about what happened earlier..." Rachel started.

            Carole shrugged.

            "What are you talking about? Nothing happened."

            "Well we're still sorry," Dave said. 

            "And we want you back as leader," Zell finished.

            Carole realeased Kerry and did the SeeD salute. Zell and Rachel did it too.

            "It would be my pleasure."

            "Wow Irvy there are so many people here, how can we find the others?!" Selphie asked jumping to try and see over taller people.

            "Calm down, Selphie," Quistis asked. "You're not supposed to attract attention on yourself."

            "On the contrary, I think the others would have better chances of finding us if we make a racket," Audrey said.

            "That is if they're here," Irvine stated. "If they're still alive."

            The three girls turned to him and frowned madly at him.

            "They gotta be!" Selphie exclaimed. "They're strong, they're all strong! That thing only transported here, it didn't eat us!"

            "Well alright, let's imagine they're still alive, what makes you think they're around here?"

            "Nothing, I just want to believe it, that's all."

            "She's right," Quistis said. "We have to believe!"

            Quistis brought her gaze on the game in progress in the pool. The Goers were playing another team and it looked like they would win, allowing them to participate in the finals versus the Aurochs. Even though her eyes were on the game, her mind was elsewhere. She was worried. Worried about never seeing her friends again, afraid of never going back home, afraid of never seeing Dave again. She was wondering how he was, what he was doing, if he was worried about her too. But then she looked at Audrey. She lost Seifer as well as she lost Dave. She was really trying to think about something else not to let worries overcome her. She decided to try too and enjoy the game. 

Since they didn't know the teams, they decided to cheer for the winning one, the Goers. Almost everyone else inside the stadium was cheering for them as well. For what they knew, the Goers held the title and the Aurochs, which they's probably play next, was the worst team ever, but they still made it to the finals. Maybe after this game, she'd cheer the Aurochs.

            The game ended and they had a 5 minutes break until the next to give the players some time to recover. Staying five minutes underwater seemed like madness to them but they could guess they trained a long time to get there.

            The final started. The two teams entered the pool.

            "Hey, the red headed guy's not there!" Selphie noticed.

            "After the beating he got in his last game, who'd blame him?" Irvine said.

            The Aurochs approached the Goers.

            "Oh, the Goers are taunting the Aurochs!" someone said in a mic for everyone to hear.

            "That's gonna be hot!" Selphie said getting excited. "Go Aurochs!!"

            "You know, I don't know why we're cheering," Irvine stated. "They can't hear us underwater!"

            "Yes they can," someone said by their side.

            The four turned around and couldn't believe their eyes.

            "N... no way!" Irvine trailed off.

            "Are we dreaming?" Audrey asked rubbing her eyes. "Zell is that really you?"

            "Yeah it's me, who else! You guys are so noisy anyone could hear you from the other side of the sea!"

            "Oh my goodness!" Quistis exclaimed. "Are you alone?"

            "As a matter of fact..."

            He moved aside, allowing them to see behind him. Four more of their friends and a girl they didn't know were standing down the seats in the alley. Quistis's eyes rested on Dave's right away. They were filling with tears of relief as she jumped down and into his arms. Irvine, Selphie and Audrey followed her.

            "I was so worried," Quistis whispered. 

            Dave held her tight for a while. Even though he didn't really show it before, he was really worried himself, maybe even more than he realized it before. Now that he had her in his arms, he knew he was really scared never to see her again.

            "Hey, where have you all been?" Irvine asked giving a light punch on Zell's shoulder.

            "Are you alright, Carole?" Audrey asked.

            Carole seemed a bit disappointed but quickly took on a smile.

            "Yeah, how are you Audrey?"

            But the others weren't fooled, they knew what was wrong with her.

            "Squall's not with you?" Rachel asked the others.

            Quistis released Dave and shook her head.

            "Unfortunately, that's all of us. We ended up all in the same place."

            "Us too," Dave said.

            "Could we sit down, I'm getting dizzy with everyone speaking at once!" Adam asked.

            They managed to find empty seats for all of them and talk about what happened while watching the game. Kerry was introduced to them as well but with new people around, she was getting nervous and was all around Carole again. She was just getting used to the others and now more people...  Since they were Carole's friends, they couldn't be that bad.

            "See the guy in the Aurochs team but not wearing the same clothes?" Carole asked Audrey.

            "Yeah, the blond guy?"

            "It seems he also came from another world. His name's Tidus and he saved my life."

            "Really?" Selphie cut in. "How?"

            They talked more as the game was still in progress.

            Before the first half was over, the Goers scored.

            "Ah, man!" Zell said disappointed.

            "There's still the next half to play!" Carole said. "If Tidus can use his Jecht shot, he'll score."

            "That thing he did on the ship?" Adam asked.

            "Yeah. But I think he'll only be able to do it once since it's so hard."

            The next half of the game started. The ball was on the Aurochs' side. The one who had it, Letty, carried it around a bit to confuse the Goers than passed it to Tidus who swam like crazy towards the goal but was stopped by the defenders, Doram and Balgerda. For girls, they were incredibly tough. 

            Tidus kicked the ball right into Doram's face and it was bounced back to him so he punched it into Balgerda's face. With no one in his way, he was free to shoot anytime. The ball was bounced back to him one more time so he started spinning around himself then kicked it towards the goal with so much speed the goaler never saw it coming.

            "Goal!!!"

            "Alright!" Evryone exclaimed jumping up.

            "That was incredible!" Selphie stated.

            "That's the Jecht shot!" Carole said.

            "Now it's 1 to 1..." Dave said. "They still have three minute and half to score another goal."

            "If the Goers don't do it before them..." Rachel said.

            The ball was passed around, players were being tackled until there was only 2 minutes left. The crowd started calling Wakka's name so a time up was called.

            "Why are they calling Wakka?" Adam asked.

            "Isn't it obvious?" Carole asked. "Tidus is not usually playing for this team. It's the first time the Aurochs are getting to the finals and the captain's not even participating. Everyone thinks he should be there with his team. It's not fair for Tidus but he understands, look!"

            "Now where is that player going?" the voice in the mic said. "He's leaving the pool! Maybe he's hurt!"

            He wasn't hurt. He knew he lost so he was heading to the locker room to get Wakka and explain everything to him. Not long after, Wakka entered the sphere pool and his team surrounded him. The crowd was cheering even more than before. Almost everyone was cheering for the Aurochs now. Even Zell and the others were cheering for Wakka.

            "You can do it!" Selphie yelled.

            "Come on, Wakka!" Carole screamed as well.

            The others all did their cheer. That would really be awesome if they'd win.

            There were tackles, passing, attempt at shooting until only 30 seconds were left. Wakka was looking at his team mates. He was exhausted but he would do it. Letty and Datto were making the front line with him. Both tackled the defenders aside to leave Wakka some room. He shot...

            "GOAL!!!!"

            The stadium was shaking as the game ended on this winning goal from the Aurochs.

            "They won!" Rachel exclaimed. 

            "I can't believe it!" Adam said.

            "Hurray!" Selphie bounced around.

            The Goers were leaving the pool, beaten but Wakka remained there, floating a moment. Tidus entered the pool and was swimming towards him with concern. Wakka saw him and lifted a thumb to show he was fine. He slapped Tidus hand and they headed towards the exit but then they heard screams from outside the sphere pool. Monsters were attacking the stadium, and some even entered the pool. Luckily Tidus had the brotherhood with him. Made like water, it wasn't heavy. They managed to get rid of the monsters and leave the pool but in the stadium, everyone was running around in a panic.

            "Wow, where're they all coming from?" Zell asked looking around. 

            There were huge birds and armored type walking monsters everywhere. 

            "Alright, let's fight these things!" Carole said.

            "Roger!"

            They all took their weapons out to cover the people trying to leave with their lives. They were fighting on their side of the stadium but on the other side, a man dressed in red with a long sword was fighting as well. He had a smile as an armored type monster chased fans out.

            "Keep going!" Carole said slashing a bird in two.

            "Where the fuck they coming from?" Rachel asked swinging her axe.

            "Damn thing!" Irvine complained shooting at an armored type. "No good, my bullets aren't getting through!"

            But all of a sudden, the monsters surrounding them were swept away and disappeared in green lights.

            "What the..." Zell started.

            Carole frowned and held her gunblade tightly.

            "Be careful everyone... Something's coming," she said.

            Kerry stayed close to her, holding her twin knives like Carole was holding her gunblade. Everyone was looking around.

            "What's happening?" Selphie asked staying close to Irvine.

            Dave and Quistis were standing back to back, ready for anything.

            "Have you noticed?" Carole asked. "No one seems to realize what's happening... It's not good..."

            Some wind started blowing out of nowhere right in front of them, forcing them to shield their faces.

            "What's happening?" Kerry asked getting scared.

            "Watch out everyone!" Carole warned.

            Everyone was prepared, the SeeDs and the others as well.

            Something appeared right where the wind was blowing. A feminine form, then a woman, dressed in tight shining leather. A one piece of clothing with no sleeves, with a deep V on her chest. She was pretty tall for a girl. She was holding a black whip in a hand and the other one was resting on her hip. Her shoulder length red hair was being blown around her. She had high heeled shoes and an evil smirk on her face.

            "You!" Carole exclaimed pointing her. "You were the one watching us weren't you?"

            Everyone moved their gaze from the unknown woman to Carole.

            "What are you talking about?" Quistis asked.

            But the woman in leather had a strange smile.

            "In town I had this feeling of being watched... It was you, wasn't it?"        

            "Impressive..." she said and walked forward.

            Everyone clenched their weapons as she was coming towards them.

            "Tsk tsk tsk... SeeDs... so primitive... Ready to fight at the first sight of a threat..."

            "Who the hell are you?" Zell asked punching the air in front of him. 

            "Did you do that?" Dave asked.

            "That?" she asked gesturing around, showing the monsters. "Nah, someone else did, I just used the opportunity to see you."  
            "Why's that?" Adam asked with a frown.

            She walked through them never leaving their eyes off her. Then she spun around.

            "You see, I was the one to take you here!"

            No one was waiting for this revelation and it all showed on their faces.

            "Hell?"

            "The fuck?!"

            "No way!" Carole exclaimed.

            The others all said something similar which seemed to amuse the girl a lot.

            "Why?" Carole asked. "Why did you take us away from our home? Are you also responsible for us being seperated?"

            "Yes, I thought it would be more... interresting that way... As for why I did it..."

            She walked towards Dave and Adam not far from each other and walked around them. She pinched their behinds on the way. Dave saw red as he slashed the air towards her.

            "Why you bitch!"

            But his sword was stopped by some kind of invisible shield. She didn't even flinched when it knocked against it but Dave remained surprised.. She turned to him and slowly shook a finger in front of him.

            "It's not polite to attack people while they're talking."

            She kept walking away and the guys watched themselves.

            "I did it because I was bored..."

            There was nearly no more people running around like they were trapped between times or that time stopped which was nearly the case.

            "You're a Sorceress, aren't you?" Carole asked.

            Just at the name, Kerry felt like pressing herself against Carole.

            "A Sorceress?" Irvine exclaimed.

            "You could say that... I have no homeland, no parents I can remember about, no friends... I could be a god maybe."

            She stopped walking and turned to them.

            "My name's Veronique."

            "Because you're bored..." Carole started. "And you dare call yourself a god?"

            She dashed her and raised her gunblade high.

            "No wait!" Dave called.

            But she wouldn't stop.

            "Hmph! Pitiful!"

            Veronique gestured and Carole was blown away against Zell, Rachel and Irvine.

            "Are you alright?" Rachel inquired helping her up.

            "Damn you! Where are the others?" Carole asked pushing her sister aside.

            "That is not what you think. You are thinking 'where is Squall' right? You don't care about the others."

            "That's not true! I care about everyone!"

            "Where are they?" Audrey asked as well.

            Veronique looked at the sky and shrugged.

            "Who knows... You think I'll tell you? It wouldn't be any fun!"

            "Why here?" Quistis asked. "There must be plenty worlds you know about if you're so strong why this one?"

            "Because I wanted to see you struggle in a world where there is something that constantly threatens it. The others were already all saved by some fools like you! I may be powerful, I can see the present and the past, sometimes the future when it stands still but I can't go back in time or further ahead. I wanted to see you struggle and things are getting even more interesting that I would have imagined!"

            "That's all we are to you?" Zell asked with a mad frown. "Toys to play with?"

            She smiled widely and vanished. Everyone looked around, sure that she was not far. She reapeared right behind Zell.

            "Look out!" Rachel exclaimed.

            But Zell didn't have the time to make a single move he had a whip wrapped around his neck. Veronique closened her face to his ear.

            "You're a bunch of hottie-cutie boys. I really hope we could all become friends."

            She took a handfull of Zell's behind.

            "Let go you..."

            "It's nice and firm... Mmmm..."

            She giggled and vanished again to appear where she disapeared first.

            "You're no match for me! Maybe if you keep training we could all play together again?"

            "I'll show you play!" Carole exclaimed clenching her gunblade.

            "It's no use!" Audrey tried to warn.

            But Carole was stubborn and everyone knew it.

            Veronique smirked and gestured again but this time, Carole wasn't blown aside.

            "This won't work on me twice!"

            She raised her gunblade and the sorceress raised her shield with clenched teeth when the gunblade struck. Then Veronique extended a hand towards her and this time, Carole was blown away, sliding on the ground. She rested on her elbows.

            "You're not bad, but far from my level. I won't tell you where your other friends are but I'll tell you they're not in Luca. I want you to find them so I won't lie to you. Don't disappoint me now!"

            She disappeared and the strange feeling they all had since she arrived was gone as well.

            "C-chan!" Kerry exclaimed hurrying to her friend.

            Irvine was helping her up. She took her gunblade and sheated it. She was mad, really mad.

            "It seems this crazy bitch holds our lives in her hands," she stated. "Whether we go back home or not is up to her. I guess we'll have to put on a good show..."

            No one was laughing at that sentence because it was true. Veronique was looking for entertainment so what would become of them if they would be boring? So far she seemed to enjoy the 'show' but how long would she? Carole wanted to trust she said the truth, that Rinoa, Squall and Seifer weren't anywhere in Luca. They were the only ones left.

            They were so busy with their worries, facing the possibilities of being stuck in Spira just like Tidus because of the fantasy of one woman, that they didn't notice that all the monster were gone. A giant creature with a bandaged face leaving only one bleading eye out was standing in the middle of the place. Anima, summoned by Seymour to slay all the monsters before someone would get hurt. Everyone around was impressed except them. They had more worries of their own.

            Veronique seemed really pleased with her first impression on the group. She confused them, scared them, and gave them more to worry about than they already had. She was really pleased, but she was also thoughtful.

            "I have no doubt that they'll find their remaining friends which will be pretty soon but I wonder... "

            She was especially looking at Carole's face.

            "I wonder how she'll deal with 'that'... I can barely wait to see what will happen next!"

            She was making it sound like she was watching a TV show. She brought the players on the ground but they had to find their own way around it. She had to start thinking what she would do after.

            "Will I send them back home or watch them for the rest of their lives? I'll wait and see how long she holds on until she goes berserk! That should be interresting! Will she, or won't she?"

_A/N: Finally! Next chapter done! I couldn't stop typing and I'm tired!!! I was so into it! How was it? I'm getting real confused now with so many characters so forgive me if you're lost! Please review! I accept flames but only if they have any kind of purpose to help me improve my writing! I'll try and get the next chapter soon!_


	9. Chapter 8: Worries

A/N: Even though I STILL receive flames despite my warning, I'm not giving up!! As long as there's someone out there who enjoys my fanfic, I'll keep going! And screw those jerks! Nah! I had it! Well, here comes the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Worries 

****

            The SeeDs and their friends were standing aside from the others, either wondering what was that attack about or what their SeeDs friends seemed to be so troubled about.

Yuna and her Guardians were on the outskirts of the city, ready to leave as Wakka was handing the Blitzball cup to his team mates after saying he was retiring, giving his all to his Guardian duty. His team was sad but they understood just fine.

All thinking that Tidus would stay there, they didn't wait for him. Yuna turned to the lost people who all seemed pretty down or worried.

"Well, I guess this is where we leave each other..."

Carole looked at her, holding her necklace.

"I have a favor to ask, Lady Yuna. Could we accompany you?"

Her team looked at her but Yuna smiled.

"I wouldn't mind at all."

She looked at her Guardians for approval and they all nodded with smiles except Kimahri. He never smiled.

"I think that we might have greater chances of finding our remaining friends if we leave. According to... some sources, they're not here."

Yuna could guess something happened just by looking at their faces but she decided not to ask. She simply nodded.

"Thank you. We won't stand in your way."

Meanwhile, Tidus was standing in the dock area after running after a familiar face. He was frowning and ready to confront the guy. Tidus hurried to the red dressed guy the second he had the chance and tackled him, grabbing his collar.

"Hey you, don't just stand there! All of this is your fault! Being swallowed up by Sin, being stuck here on Spira, not being able to go back to Zanarkand, everything, everything! I tell you, it's all your fault!"

The guy just stared at him a while then bursted out in a laughter. Tidus released him, arching an eyebrow and still feeling angry.

"Who are you anyway...?" Tidus asked him.

The guy was Auron, the one who raised him since his father disappeared and who was a Guardian to Yuna's father before that.

            Then Auron started talking about Sin, about Jecht and something about the two being linked.

            "You must have felt him when you were inside Sin..." He said.

            Something snapped inside Tidus. He feared the truth.

            "No..."

            "Yes. Sin is Jecht."

            Tidus lowered his head and half-closed his eyes. He started walking around nervously.

            "Argh, no way that's ridiculous! I don't believe you!!" he exclaimed throwing his arms up and facing him his back.

            Auron walked a step forward.

            "It's true, and you know it."

            "Arrrgh!!!"

            He started pacing around.

            "Are you also responsible for the others?" Tidus asked with a more shocked voice.

            "The others?" Auron asked frowning.

            "Nevermind..."

            He was in shock and didn't know what to think, but Auron had an idea of his own.

            "We will go with Yuna, both of us."

            He literally dragged him along to the entrance of Luca where the others were all. When she caught sight of them, Yuna bowed in high respect.

            "Sir Auron!"

            "Yuna, I would like to become your Guardian," Auron stated.

            "Oh?"

            "You refuse?"

            "No, no! It would be an honor, sir Auron."

            Auron turned around and grabbed Tidus who was keeping his head down like he was really depressed. He pulled him to the front.

            "And he comes too."

            Tidus looked at them and scrathed the back of his head.

            "Huh, hi guys.. huh, howdy!" he said bowing.

            He looked at everyone, including the SeeDs but he noticed that he was not the only one with a lot on his mind.

            Everyone was readying for departure. Yuna took Tidus aside while the others were trying to figure out what to do.

            "Is it such a good idea to stick with them?" Zell asked.

            "Why?" Carole inquired.

            "What tells us Veronique wouldn't go after them?"

            "..."

            Carole was holding her forehead. She had a small headache just big enough to be really annoying and all that wasn't helping.

            "Do you think we'll find the others soon?" Audrey inquired. "I miss Seifer!"

            _I miss Squall..._

"Yeah I don't think she lied. She's insane and stupid but not a liar..."

            "How can you be so sure?" Quistis asked.

            "Heck, I don't know I just feel it, that's all, why can't you all just shut it!?"

            Everyone was staring at her so she held her forehead again and sighed.

            "Sorry, I feel just like you. I don't like her at all but I still think we will find the others, I want to believe it!"

            When she brought her head back up to the others, they were all smiling.

            "What?"

            "Tee-hee! You looked and almsot sounded like Squall just now," Selphie said giggling.

            Rachel walked to her sister.

            "Maybe you're trying to be like him a little too much. It's not him we have as a leader now, it's you so stop pretending. We all know you miss him and we all want to find the others, don't we?" she asked turning to her friends.

            "You bet!" they all answered.

            "See? You're not alone so share your worries with us instead of shutting them in!"

            "But I..."

            "Now don't give us the I-don't-want-to-annoy-you-with-my-problems stuff okay?" Dave said. "We're all in this together and if Veronique shows up again..."

            "I'll beat the hell outta her!" Zell said punching in front of him.

            "Yeah right, like you were a great help earlier," Rachel said poking him. "She rather beat the hell outta you after pinching your butt! And you didn't seem to hate that!"            "Are you jealous?"

            "Well, I have to admit that she was damn sexy..." Irvine started. "She must be real hot... ouch!"

            Selphie just kicked his leg.

            "Moron..."

            "Well thank you all," Carole said. "Now I suggest that we don't bother Yuna and the others with that, they already have enough on their minds, Veronique is our business only."

            "Sure."

            They joined with Lulu, Wakka, Kimahri and Auron to discuss their next destination while Yuna and Tidus were still talking facing the town.

            "HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!" Tidus suddenly bursted out.

            Yuna was looking at him. He had his fists on his hip and was really exagerating a laughter towards the city.

            "I think you shouldn't laugh anymore," Yuna said.

            But he kept going.

            "Is he nuts?" Adam asked staring at him.

            "I don't know," Carole answered wondering the same thing.

            He was still laughing when Yuna stood by his side and took a deep breath facing the city. They looked at each other then let out that laugh together. After a moment, their face twisted then they started laughing for real this time, not exagerated anymore.

            "It's so funny!" Yuna said laughing.

            "It was your idea!" Tidus replied.

            When they were done, they turned around and faced the others staring at them.

            "What?"

            "We thought you guys were going crazy," Wakka said.

            Tidus scratched the back of his head, uneasy and Yuna laughed a little.

            "Are we done yet?" Auron asked.

            Yuna turned to him and bowed as an apology.

            "Yes, I'm sorry."

            The gang climbed up a set of stairs leading out of Luca.

            "Where are we going?" Audrey asked.

            Carole took out her map to take a look. She pointed a spot on the map then another one.

            "We are leaving Luca onto Mi'ihen highroad. I guess we're gonna reach Djose?"

            "That's where we're heading," Auron answered her.

            The others were going on ahead but Auron was staying behind with the foreign group of people who seemed to be tagging along in their pilgrimage.

            "Which one of you is the leader?" he asked.

            Simultaneously, nine fingers pointed at Carole. So many people pointing at her in the same time made her feel uncomfortable.

            "Y... yeah that's me."

            "I would like to speak with you."

            "Huh... sure!"

            "In private."

            "Oh, hum guys?"

            She turned to her friends and they all understood so they walked on ahead of them. Kerry looked back at her, a bit worried but Carole smiled comfortingly at her. Once they were far enough, Auron started to walk to follow, Carole with him.

            She didn't know why but the guy was making her nervous. It was not because he was older, it was something else. She knew who it was: Auron, Guardian to Yuna's father ten years ago, the one who raised Tidus since that time... So he went to Tidus' Zanarkand then?

            "So... hum, you raised Tidus didn't you?"

            "He told you?"

            "Uh huh... Hum... what did you want with me?"

            Auron looked at the girl who was stubbornely looking elsewhere.

            "Do I make you uneasy?"

            "Well..." she started blushing with shame and bringing her head down. "I feel something strange around you but I don't feel any threats so I guess I'm just stupid."

            Auron seemed impressed but behind his glasses and half of his face hidden behind that collar, no one could tell it.

            "You're not stupid. There is something about me, but I must keep it secret for now."

            "I understand."

            "Now, tell me who you are and where you come from. These other people are your friends?"

            Carole nodded and started telling what happened in Garden with the mysterious pond that swallowed them up, bringing them to Spira in separate groups; Yuna and the others taking them along to find their missing friends; that they found some in Luca and are searching for the remaining ones.

            "I see... It's pretty hard to believe."

            Carole was looking at the ground.

            "What happened during the tournament?" Auron asked.

            "What do you mean?"

            "I was not that far, I saw something."

            "Alright..."

            She told him about Veronique appearing to tell them she was responsible for them being on Spira. That she was a sorceress which was a powerful and sometimes threatening being in their world.

            Auron remained silent.

            "You think we're strange?" She asked.

            Auron slowly shook his head.

            "No. I'll say this: stay out of Yuna's way. Don't interfere in her pilgrimage."

            And he walked forward, leaving her behind, puzzled. _In her way? Is that what we are? Interfering?_

"Who do you think you are?" she exclaimed running after him.

            He stopped and turned around.

            "Yuna kindly offered us to come along in the beginning! We are searching for our friends and trying to figure how we'll make it home, we never had any intention of interfering in her pilgrimage!"

            She was frowning. That guy just showed up then he acted all cool like he was the boss? This kind of people always made her mad.

            "You wanna see how tough I am?" she asked.

            "Is that a challenge?" he asked a cold way.

            "If that's the way you see it, then it must be!"

            Auron had a smile.

            "You shouldn't try and pick a fight with me, you could regret it."

            "Oh yeah?" she asked taking her gunblade out. "See that? Thanks to this little thing I was never beaten before!"

            "That's not what I got earlier. It seems this thing couldn't do much against your sorceress...."

            ".........."

            "You seem to be a good leader but control your temper. Who knows what you'll have to face later..."

            "Why do you care? You don't want us around anyway!"

            She sheated her gunblade and frowned. 

            "If you can be useful, it's fine but as I said, don't get in the way."

            He started walking further ahead.

            "I'll show you...." she whispered.

            She ran to catch up with the others, passing Auron and granting him a mad face in the process.

            "So what did he have to say?" Quistis asked her once she caught up.

            "To stay out of the way... The guy's full of himself!"

            "Who does he think he is?" Zell asked. "We're not novices, for Hyne's sake!"

            "That's what I said but..."

            She kept silent as she was about to tell there was something with that guy. She promised not to say anything and she would keep her promise. She started wondering how come she actually knew that there was something with him. Since she arrived on Spira, all kinds of weird thing started happening around her. She was having visions, black outs sometimes, she was using magics often...

            _What's happening to me? Squall I need you..._

Walking as the rear guard, Auron was staring at the bunch of youngsters walking in front of him.

            _They don't seem to be bad people but I'm afraid they may become part of this story... A little closer than they should._

As they were progressing, they were past by three people riding big yellow birds.

            "Chocobos?" Zell said. "They have chocobos here too?"

            A woman saluted the summoner and her crew.

            "Captain Lucil of the Chocobo Knights. You must be Lady Yuna."

            "Yes."

            "You should be careful around here," another woman said. "There are fiends on this road, some powerful ones."

            "We'll be careful," Yuna assured bowing. "Thank you."

            The chocobos departed and were soon out of sight. Aware that they could be attacked any moment, the group departed with care.

They did encounter fiends on the way. There was the same type that there was in the stadium, with hard armor, that they could hardly hurt, but it appeared that Auron's weapon, a sword with a long blade was fit for the job and the fiends were down in no time.

            A bit farther, they came upon a woman, a summoner, just like Yuna but she challenged her in a fight of Aeons. Her name was Belgemine. Yuna accepted when her fellow summoner stated that it would help her to progress.

            Belgemine summoned Ifrit, leaving Yuna no choice but to summon Valefor, the only one she had left.

            The two Aeons fought fiercely against each other. After a moment, Yuna had Valefor unleash a more powerful attack, an Overdrive, defeating Ifrit.

            "You have done well, Yuna. But of course that is not enough to defeat Sin. Keep training, we will meet again" she said before leaving.

            "What was that all about?" Tidus asked scratching the back of his head.

            "I think she wants to help me get more powerful. But why me, she has the same chances of defeating Sin than I..."

            _I always thought that there was something fishy about this place..._ Carole thought.

            "Let's keep going," Selphie said looking around nervously. "I don't want to be hanging around here when the night comes."

            "Oh, Selphie's afraid of the dark?" Irvine asked teasingly.

            "No, I'm not, but I don't like to fight monsters in the dark."

            "The girl has a point," Auron said. "We should make haste."

            "Tell that to the monsters..." Rachel said in a low tone.

            They started walking again, passing by lonely and scared travellers trying to reach the other side of the road but with the fiends on the way, it wouldn't be easy for them. 

            Kerry was peeking at Carole for a while so she went to her and grabbed her arm.

            "H... hey? What is it?"

            "Could we talk?"

            "Sure."

            She looked at the others who had turned around to see what was happening behind them.

            "Go ahead you guys, I'll join you soon."

            They nodded and Carole stayed behind with Kerry.

            "So what is it?" she asked smiling.

            Kerry seemed worried.

            "Are we ever going back home?"

            Carole lowered her head. She decided to be honest, no use lying to the girl.

            "I don't know Kerry. I would like to say 'yes, at the minute we find our friends', but I don't have a clue. It depends on Veronique... She makes me so mad!!"

            "C-chan..."

            "But don't worry. Whatever happens, I'll be with you, alright?"

            Kerry smiled.

            "Alright! And I'll be with you as well!"

            "Thank you."

            As they were about to go ahead again, Carole suddenly felt something ram her, causing her some pain.

            "Ugh!"

            She took her gunblade out and spun around.

            "Dammit, a back attack!"

            "C-chan, are you alright?"

            "Yeah it's not that bad."

            The monster that tackled her was one of those armored ones. She also saw something that wasn't pleasing.

            "Oh, shit, a Bomb! I hope it's not the growing type!" she exclaimed dashing the flaming monster and slashing it.

            Unfortunately, it was the growing type. Two more hits and if it wouldn't kill it, it would self-destruct. She turned to Kerry, who was ready to fight as well even though she looked a bit scared. She couldn't get her hurt after promising she wouldn't let anything happen to her.

            "Kerry, get back!"

            "No! I wanna fight too! I'll keep the armored one busy while you take down the Bomb to keep it from self-destructing!"

            Carole couldn't help but smile seeing Kerry has learned her lessons well.

            "Are you sure?"

            "Yeah, but... hurry, okay?"

            The elder girl nodded, then both dashed their respective monsters. Carole slashed the Bomb, causing it to grow once again.

            _If I don't destroy it now, I'm doomed!_

The Bomb cast a Fire spell on her, but she had some junctionned so it didn't do that much damage.

            She wanted to see what Kerry was doing but she couldn't be distracted.

            _Alright! This is it!_

She dashed the Bomb, jumped and slashed, causing a critical hit. She was hoping it was enough but then the bomb started shaking.

            "Oh, shit!"

            It came forward between the two girls.

            "What? It's heading for the both of us?"

            _Kerry!_

She ran to the little girl, grabbed her tight and held her when the Bomb self-destructed behind her back.

            "Argh!"

            "C-chan!"

            Carole let go of Kerry who had the time to see Carole was badly hurt. The elder girl dropped onto her knees.

            "Are... are you okay K-chan?"

            "C-chan! Why did you do that?"

            "To protect you, silly..."

            Her back was smoking from the Bomb's flame and part of her hair was burned.

            "I'll take care of the other one, now," Kerry stated. "You take care of your wounds!"

            "No..."

            Carole closed her eyes and was enwrapped in a reddish light for a second. Then she opened her eyes. She was frowning. She got up and ran to the monster.

            "Sword Dance! Yaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

            "A Limit Break?" Kerry asked herself.

            She started swiftly slashing the monster. Everytime it tried to attack her, she would just move elsewhere and slash again. It really looked like a dance. She slashed the monster eight times before she stopped and the monster disappeared, defeated. She dropped back on her knees and tried to catch her breath. 

            "Carole!" someone called.

            Rachel and the others finally saw the fight and hurried to their friends.

            Carole was clenching her teeth and dropped her gunblade to press a hand on her burned shoulder. Kerry hurried to her.

            "C-chan!"

            "I'm fine... I'm just not used to fire wounds."

            "Who would be, stupid?" Rachel asked once she got close enough.

            She turned to the coming group.

            "Who's got the potions?"

            "I have some," both Zell and Irvine answered in the same time.

            "No!" Carole objected. "Save them, we don't know anything here about where to find more. It may take us a while so we better save them."

            "But you're hurt!" Quistis objected. "Potions are supposed to be used for that purpose."

            "I know but..."

            "Allow me," someone cut in.

            They all turned around to face Yuna standing there with her Guardians behind her. Carole took a peek of Auron. Even though her sight was a little blurred because of the pain, she could have sworn he looked like he was worried. Or wasn't frowning his permanent look? Was that what he meant by 'interfering?' Becasue Yuna was a summoner and a white mage, she'd always help people in need?

            "Lady Yuna," Carole said in a sorry tone. "Please go on ahead, I'm sorry for slowing you down."

            "Are you crazy?" Tidus asked getting through the people and putting a knee down next to her. "Who made you think you were slowing us down?"

            Then he frowned and turned his head to Auron.

            "Hmph," Auron did.

            The truth  was that Auron saw the fight and he was impressed. Like he would have given his life for Lord Braska who was, beside a summoner, his friend, that girl was ready to give her life to save her friend. She was ready to die for each one of her friends and that included Yuna's group. She had a heart which was something rare. While the two of them were fighting, she never called for help but not because she thought she didn't need it, but because she didn't want them to endanger themselves because of her. She didn't want to hold Yuna's pilgrimage either. He was thinking that maybe he was too hard on her. If she'd keep doing this, she'd be dead before they'd ever reach Zanarkand, if they would be around that long.

            Yuna casted her Cure spell on the wounded girl who clenched her teeth and shut her eyes as she felt the wound slightly closing.

            "It's not enough," Yuna said. "You need to rest."

            "Thank you, Lady Yuna... Thank you very much."

            She attempted to get up, but her legs were like cotton and wobbled. Tidus grabbed her before she'd collapse again.

            "Whoa!" he exclaimed catching her.

            "Heh... sorry. I didn't think it was this bad."

            "There is a place where we can rest a bit farther, let's head there," Auron informed.

            Tidus was still frowning when he looked at him but when Carole did, she smiled. Auron nodded which meant it was alright.

            With Tidus helping her stay on her feet, he couldn't fight in case of fiends encounter so Wakka and Kimahri stood in front of them with Auron to guard and Dave, Adam and Quistis stayed behind. Carole was a little embarrased but on the other hand, she was glad to have such friends.

            "Hum, I was so sure she'd do it now!" Veronique exclaimed with a frown of disappoitment. "Oh, well..."

            She spun around and gestured, causing the mirror-like device to disappear behind her.

            "That should happen soon enough! Until it happens, I'm still gonna enjoy myself very much!"

            She clapped a moment like a little girl waiting for a surprise.

            "I should return there for the Auron guy. He's so manly and sexy! I have never seen a guy like that in years!"

            She took on a dirty look that, thanks to her loneliness, no one else could see.

_A/N: I'm sorry! I know I promised it sooner, but I edited the other chapters and I decided to always read it before posting it. I did so if you find speeling errors, let me know! I may have past some as I was reading! Please, don't forget to review!! I don't receive much anymore but for those who do, thank you! As I said before, you're what keep me going!_


	10. Chapter 9: At Last!

**Chapter 9: At last!**

****

            In a room of the travel agency, Carole was writing down more notes of Al Behd she heard from Rin, the one owning these agencies. She was feeling much better now. It didn't take very long until she felt better. Maybe it was a side effect of the limit break use. It was actually the first time she used it. She wanted so much to help her young friend, maybe that's when they're triggered: when people are desperate to help others or survive to keep going.

            The sun was coming down when someone knocked at the door.

            "Come in!" she said putting her notes aside.

            She knew that Wakka resented the Al Behd. Being the only one knowing about Yuna's secret made her feel strange but also a little proud to be the keeper of this secret.

            Wakka was reluctant of using this agency to rest since it was Al Behd's but everyone went in so he just followed.

            The door opened and Auron came in, leaving the door open.

            "Feeling better?" he asked.

            Was he asking out of concern or only so they would get back on the road as soon as possible? With the glasses and the high collar, it was hard to see his face or what he was thinking.

            There was still that strange feeling around him and being in a small room alone with him kind of made it even stronger. She tried to ignore it to answer his question.

            "Much better."

            "Good."

            She thought he'd leave after that but he remained there.

            "Yes?"

            "I wanted to apologize for earlier."

            "It's alright," Carole assured shaking her head. "In the military, I'm used to being resented."

            "I didn't really meant to show you resentment, it's just that I want this pilgrimage to go on before anything else and I'm afraid that with her soft and kind attitude, Yuna might want to try and help you."

            "Like earlier? The last thing I want is for her to be distracted."

            "You seem kinda distracted yourself."

            She brought her gaze back on her things scattered on the bed.

            "It's nothing."

            "You're a leader ready to hear to your team's problems but you won't share yours with them right?"

            "You can say it like that."

            "Reminds me of someone I knew..."

            She looked up to him again and smiled.

            "When I first saw you I didn't think you were the talkative type."

            Auron looked away.

            "I'm not."

            The girl had a smile. It seemed her single presence was enough to make people feel and act different. Was it something she was saying? Doing? Or was it just because of her?

            "Alright, I get it."

            "Most are outside. You should go tell them you're fine maybe."

            "I'll do that."

            Auron left without another word. What was it with him? What was that feeling she had when he was around? That funny itching annoying feeling?

            She just shrugged it aside and got up to head outside. The sun was coming down and she scanned the place around, looking for familiar faces. She saw Tidus walking towards Yuna who was seated on the edge of a cliff over the water, apparently looking at something. She decided to leave them alone and just kept looking. Zell and Rachel were playing with a Chocobo, Wakka was just resting against the fence like Auron, but Wakka seemed angry about something. Probably being around Al Behd stuff. Carole decided to look for Kerry. She wanted a little training now that she could afford it. She decided to try and leave her worries about the rest of her missing friends aside to concentrate on the ones she had now.

            She didn't have to look for long, she was found before she found the one she was looking for.

            "C-chan!" the little one exclaimed running towards her mentor.

            Carole barely had the time to open her arms before the younger girl rammed her, nearly making her lose her balance, but also taking a laughter out of her.

            "Hey, what's the rush K-chan?"

            "You scared me to death! Don't ever do that!" Kerry begged hugging Carole tight.

            "I can't promise you that Kerry. As I said to Squall ago, if it happens again, I'll do it again."

            "Then I guess I'll have to make sure it doesn't happen again! I have to become stronger!"

            "Good thinking, so what do you say we spar a little?"

            "Yay!"

            The girl went a bit farther and took out her twin knives while the elder one took her gunblade in hand. She closed her eyes a moment, focusing. Not being focused even during training could prove dangerous for major injuries. She washed everything aside and concentrated on her fight with Kerry. The younger one was frowning, also focusing only on the fight to come. For this fight, Carole wouldn't tell her what to do, she would let her choose her own pace of attack. She would also let her begin but Kerry already understood that.

            "Yah!" she exclaimed holding her knives as she dashed the elder girl.

            Carole blocked one of her knives with her blade and caught her other wrist in her hand. That was something she needed to work. She was usually holding her blade with two hands like Squall but she wished she could do it more like Seifer, only with one hand. Against an opponent like Kerry, it was necessary. While she would be busy defending against one blow, she was opened for the next one and she knew it.

            "Hey, you used your hand!" Kerry complained.

            "I also have progress to make!"

            Both jumped backward and this time, it was Carole's turn to attack before Kerry recovered. She just had the time to cross her knives in front of her to block the gunblade. Against Kerry, she never used the trigger. She didn't want to hurt her after all.

            "Yes, you do have progress to make, C-chan!" Kerry teased.

            "I'm still your teacher," she said suddenly extending her leg to make Kerry trip.

            The girl heavily fell on her back and Carole held her gunblade with two hands and never raised it, she knew it would leave her open.

            "You play dirty!" Kerry said sulking as she got back up.

            "Kerry, we are trained in fair fights but with my... personnal experiences, I know enemies never fight fair so you have to know when to go beyond your training."

            The others were now looking at the training in progress and Tidus, done talking with Yuna had to fight the urge to rush in and ask if he could participate. She said she would fight him, she would. She was the kind to keep promises or so he thought.

            Zell and Rachel turned from the Chocobos to the fight and Rachel frowned.

            "Silly..." she simply said.

            "Why?" Zell asked confused.

            "She does this only to try and not think about Squall... When will she be true to herself?"

            "I guess it's her way to ease the pain," someone cut in.

            "Hey Adam," Rachel said turning her head.

            "You know I miss Rinoa a lot but I think Carole must be feeling something close to paranoia."

            "Why?"

            "Isn't it obvious?" Dave cut in with Quistis holding his hand like a scared little girl.

            "They went through so much! It took them a while just to reveal their feelings to each other then they lived in constent fear of losing each other so now that they're apart..."

            "Oh..."

            She looked back at her sister and looked at her a different way. True she was very close to Squall while she was sick. He entrusted her the command of a whole group of SeeDs during the Great Battle and she was ready to sacrifice her life for him but then he still ended up dying which she wouldn't have been able to deal with, Rachel was sure of it. She was the kind to hold on to somthing real hard but if it falls, so is she. At the moment, she really hoped they would find him soon.

            The sound of blades falling on the ground was heard and Kerry was facing the tip of Carole's gunblade. She lost, it was over. Carole's twisted strand of hair was sticking on her face with sweat but she wasn't breathing fast which meant that she didn't really had a hard time to win this one. She was just giving Kerry some opportunities to allow her to improve. Defeating her too quickly would only have caused her to feel shame and not show her anything.

            "You beat me again!" Kerry said in an angry tone although she was smiling.

            "The problem is that when you always fight with the same person, you tend to guess that person's moves. Some are always following the same attack pattern but there are exceptions. Some are improvising which can confuse their enemy but themselves as well. When you know an opponent's attack pattern, you know that if you do something, you know what he'll do next so then you have to think of something different then what you'd normally do. It will surprise the opponent and give you an advantage.."

            She extended her hand to Kerry who took it and got her knives back where they belonged.

            "Where has she learned all that?" Quistis asked.

            "In Garden, silly!" Rachel answered.

            But Quistis didn't seem to agree with that. In Garden, they were usually taught with rules and warnings, it was true they were told to pay attention to an enemy's attack pattern but the way she said it was something she never heard while she was a Candidate herself. She guessed that maybe she learned from her own experiences. Since she contributed in the change of some Garden rules, she should have her own ways at fighting as well. Maybe she could be a better instructor than she was.

            "It's getting late," Carole told Kerry. "You should go to bed, I worn you out enough don't you think?"

            "I hope I can be as good as you someday, C-chan!" Kerry exclaimed hurrying to the inn.

            Carole traced her leaving.

            "I hope you'll become better than me, stronger. My strength means nothing at all..." she said looking at her hands.

            Kerry kept saying she was strong, everyone was amazed at her strength but she wasn't that strong. Her will was strong but her heart was weak. The slightest thing could cause her pain and make her lose her will.

            She turned to the setting sun in the horizon and it reflected on the tears coming to her eyes. Then she lowered her head and closed her eyes holding Squall's necklace resting on her chest.

            "I am not strong, not at all," she whispered. "Squall, I need you..."

            _I would throw everything away in a heartbeat to give you back your sight and hearing, even my own life..._

Carole opened her eyes with surprise at the sound of those words. She remembered he said them to her some time ago but it sounded more like he really said it not like some memories. But her mind must have been playing tricks on her because Squall was nowhere. He was not here.

            Tidus looked at her from the entrance of the Agency, guessing it wasn't the proper time to ask for a match. He wished he could go to her but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't think of anything. Maybe he could just tell her to come in and go to bed.

            He decided to give it a try and walked to her, towards the edge of the cliff Yuna was sitting on earlier.

            "Hey, you should have some rest," he said not sure if it was right. "They said that a monster is around to attack chocobos so... Maybe he could attack you, you should go in."

            Carole turned to him and smiled.

            "You're not concerned for my physical safety rather my mind's well being aren't you?"

            "Well..." Tidus trailed off wondering if it was that obvious to tell.

            He scratched the back of his head and gave an uneasy smile.

            "Don't worry, I'm not giving up yet. I know I'm gonna find Squall!"

            _I just wish I'd know when..._

"But you're right, I should get some sleep. You never know what could hit us tomorrow!"

            She walked passed him and towards the inn. Tidus traced her.

            "What a strange girl... She keeps pretending to be cheerful even though her heart's racing in her chest. She is strong no doubt about it in my mind! What she lacks may be to know when to talk to friends about what bothers her, but I can't force her to it, can I?"

            Receiving no answer, and not expecting one either, Tidus followed the girl inside where they would have to try and get some sleep.

            The sun just came into view when a scream broke the silence of the inn.

            "Kya! The Chocobos!"

            The SeeDs, always sonly half sleeping as they were trained to, got out of their room soon after the scream stopped echoing in the halls, fully dressed. The others followed not too much later.

            "What's going on?" Tidus asked around to his friends all gathered at the entrance.

            "A monster attacking Chocobos!"

            "Then let's defeat it!" Tidus exclaimed pumping his fist.

            "Hmph! Your father said the same thing in the past."

            "Are we going or not?" Zell asked punching his palm with his fist, showing a wide smile. "That's gonna do for morning exercise!"

            "Are your people always fighting?" Wakka asked shaking his head.

            "The only time we're not is when we're sleeping!" Audrey said.

            "Speak for yourself!" Carole said. "I'M fighting even in my dreams... but I'm not always winning... I'll have to make sure my dreams don't come true!"

            The SeeDs took their weapons out and all ran outside, boosted with adrenaline.

            "I can't understand these people..." Lulu said shrugging and shaking her head.

            "Well no point in trying to figure that out, why not join?" Tidus asked taking Brotherhood out.

            "I'm coming, ya!"

            "I will fight too!" Yuna said.

            Lulu followed the summoner she was guarding along with Kimahri and Auron was already outside.

            A big creature with two huge and long arms was standing on the top of the inn. One of it's hands was holding a chocobo, desperately trying to get free, letting out screams.

            Kerry slapped her hands in front of her mouth with horror.

            "Oh, no! The poor thing will be eaten alive!"

            "Oh, no it won't!" Adam exclaimed releasing an arrow towards the monster's hand.

            It jumped down and dropped the chocobo which quickly ran away. Then the creature turned to the group of people who dared to interrupt its meal. It seemed pretty mad for some reason.

            "Let's take it down!" Tidus said swinging his sword backward.

            "Hmph, show me action and talk less!" Auron advised.

            "I'll show you action!" Carole said frowning with a small smile.

            She was ready for action, she always was. She took a quick look of her companions to see if everyone was fine. Yuna seemed nervous but Lulu, Kimahri and Wakka were staying close to her. Kerry was standing next to Carole who herself was next to Tidus. Auron wasn't far, behind were Rachel, Zell, Dave, Quistis, Audrey, Selphie, Irvine and Adam (phew, that's a lot of people! Hope I'm not forgetting anyone!).

            The monster jumped forward, pushing part of the gang closer to a cliff right behind them and going all the way down to an ancient now rarely used road. The one who got hit were in this case, Tidus, Carole and Kerry. They got up quickly, back in place to fight.

            "Are you alright?" Yuna inquired with concern.

            "We're fine, but we have to get this thing away from us until it pushes us down this cliff!" Carole said. "Who knows how long it would take to get back up here!"

            Kerry took a peek behind her and wished to get as far away possible from that cliff as she could. She dashed the monster and cross-slashed it. She ducked to avoid one of the hands reaching out to her and rolled far to safety. Adam shot an arrow at the monster's head to distract it and that's when Carole, Tidus and Rachel decided to attack all at once. Auron not too far from the monster, decided to join the yougsters into a squared quadraple attack. Coming from four sides, the monster didn't know which one to strike back but decided to go against Rachel. It swung it's arm and threw her away next to Yuna who reacted quickly into casting a cure spell on the girl. Her guardians decided to act as well, Lulu casting spells, Wakka throwing his ball and Kimahri swinging his spear around. Dave entered the battle as well, followed with Audrey and Selphie, Irvine shooting from afar. The monster could almost be pitied being attack from everywhere at the same time. Would it even have tried, it wouldn't even have been able to do anything anyways.

            Dave was the one to deliver the finishing blow with a shot of his sword. The monster fell and disappeared in a thousand blue and green lights.

            Kerry put away her knives and placed her fists on her hips.

            "Well that wasn't so tough!" she exclaimed.

            "Look at us!" Adam said waving around the place. "There are enough of us to take down any monster!"

            "Which could be a problem," Auron stated.

            "Huh? Why?" Tidus asked turning to him.

            "We're sticking out... We could accidentally hurt someone from our team if we're too close to each other during a battle. Attacking all at once like that..."

            "Yeah, I figured it wasn't such a good idea," Carole agreed sheating her gunblade and taking an elbow in her hand.

            "What should we do then?" Quistis asked.

            "Separate in smaller groups but still travel close to each other in case something happens," Auron suggested. "This way, each group can still fight its own battles and will be able to call for help in case of stronger monsters."

            "Get separated?" Audrey exclaimed like this idea was totally wrong. "We were separated before and we could have never seen each other again and now you want to get separated again?"

            "Not go in different directions, Audrey," Carole explained. "Only get in smaller groups, but we'll still go the same way!"

            "I don't know about that," Irvine said. "Audrey may have a point. Veronique could take advantage of the situation..."

            "What did you say?" Wakka suddenly exclaimed with such strength evreyone was startled.

            "Don't bother," Carole tried to calm him. "It's our problem and you've got yours."

            In the corner of her eye, she noticed Auron nodding in approval. But Wakka didn't seem to want to drop the subject.

            "You said Veronique, ya?"

            "Wakka..." Lulu started.

            "As I said," Carole insisted with a firm tone. "Don't bother... We have to keep going!"

            "Arrgh! I guess so..."

            He still seemed pretty upset and Carole wished she'd know why. She promised earlier not to get them involved in this and she would keep that promise.

            As the gang went back in front of the inn, the girl who called for help for the chocobos was waiting for them.

            "You saved them! As a token, I'd like to offer you a free chocobo ride. You'd get accross the highroad much quicker for whatever business you have! Please accept!"

            Everyone looked at each other. Even though they just had an early fight, they were still feeling a bit numb to walk a long way so spending time on a Chocobo's back could be good. That would also save them the trouble of being separated since chocobo riders were never attacked by monsters, too fast.

            Most of the gang climbed on top of the big yellow birds but Auron and Kimahri decided to go by foot. Perfectly understandable for Kimahri. Poor chocobo! Kimahri was almost the same size than it, maybe even bigger! As for Auron, he just didn't feel as cheerful as his younger comrades.

            "I'll join you on the other side of the road. To the gates of Mushroom Rock."

            "Don't be late, old man or we'll leave without you!" Tidus joked.

            "Hmph! Don't get too slow or I'll be there before you do."

            He started walking down the road with his sword on his shoulder and Kimahri followed him after a last look at Yuna. There were enough people around her to protect her until she'd join him again.

            Carole turned to Kerry.

            "Ready?"

            The girl seemed a little worried and scared.

            "I... I never..."

            "No problem, just hop on mine with me. It's stronger than it looks! The two of us together shouldn't be much heavier than Wakka alone."

            "Hey!" The blitzer replied offended.

            "Just kidding, Wakka!" the SeeD assured with a smile.

            Carole pushed Kerry on the Chocobo's back which let out a nice 'kweh!' and tilted it's head to Kerry.

            "Scratch it, that'll show you're a friend."

            Kerry raised a shaking hand to the bird's head and started scratching the back of the head lightly but seeing the chocobo seemed to enjoy it a lot, she gained more confidence and scratched it a little more. When she stopped, the chocobo jumped up a few times with happy 'kwehs' along. Kerry held on tight not to fall but she laughed. It was better than anything she ever did before.

            Once the chocobo stopped jumping up, Carole rubbed it's neck then climbed behind Kerry. The others were already riding, only waiting for her.

            "Set?" she asked her friend.

            The girl nodded quickly, unable to wait any longer for the chocobo to start moving.

            "Alright, let's go!"

            The many chocobos started moving one after the other at great speed so the people had to hang on tight. Most of them never rode a chocobo before. The SeeDs tried it often as part of the training, but the others including Adam, Dave and Kerry, never had that chance. They were nervous at first, but like Kerry, gained confidence in their chocobo and relaxed. The bird was trained to carry people and also to assure them a safe trip so they would not make unnecessary moves that could cause their rider to fall.

            The chocobos were 'kwehing' all the way with joy like it's been ages since they last gave rides to people. They jumped small cliffs as if they knew their riders were in a hurry. Carole was hanging on the feathers in the chocobo's neck, pressing against Kerry to keep her from moving at all. Kerry had to keep her eyes half-closed because of the wind blowing in her eyes. She turned her head up to her older friend and saw that she didn't seem to have that sort of trouble.

            "Don't your eyes hurt C-chan?"

            "Not at all," Carole answered still looking in front of her. "I'm used to that and you'll have to be too. Getting blinded by wind or the sun during a fight could be a fatal mistake. I wear lences anyway but I'll have to put something on them later or they'll get dry. That could be bad for my eyes."

            "I see."

            Kerry seemed to never get tired of hearing Carole speak. Like she always wanted to learn something more. Since she was young, it was perfectly understandable but in fact, she was only curious to know a bit more of her mentor. She didn't know she wore lences.

            "You wore glasses before?"

            "Yup! But when I changed by clothes, I changed the whole, letting my hair loose for example. That's what I like about chocobo rides: it's being blown back. I really like that."

            She closed her eyes a moment to let the wind carress her face but it only reminded her of Squall's hands so she opened her eyes with a serious face to hide her nostalgia and focused on the road ahead.

            Another chocobo came next to hers.

            "Hey!" a voice called.

            Carole and Kerry turned their head aside and saw Tidus waving at them.

            "Hey!" Carole waved back.

            "Slow down or we're gonna lose everyone!" Tidus said with a giggle.

            Carole looked behind her and noticed the others were a bit far back. Since most were experimenting chocobo riding for the first time, they were still in the taming phase.

            "Oups..." Carole said a bit shameful.

            She gently pulled on the chocobo's feathers to slow it down. It complained a bit like it wanted to go fast but it obeyed it's rider. Tidus slowed down as well to keep up with her.

            "This isn't your first time, isn't it?" Tidus asked.

            "No, we also have chocobos in our world."

            "We're not that different, aren't we?"

            "That's true. But it is your first time, am I right?"

            "How did you guess?"

            "You're holding it too tight. You're gonna hurt it or make it mad."

            The chocobo did seem a little upset. Like it had enough of this squeezing, it suddenly stopped and jumped with an angry 'kweh!'

"Woah!" Tidus barely had the time to exclaim before being thrown down the bird.

 Carole stopped hers and went back to him. The chocobo was sulking and Tidus was rubbing his behind.

            "Ouch," he complained.

            "I told you!" Carole said burying a laugh. "It's a living thing so you have to be gentle.

            She started to disembark but Kerry did before she could and walked to Tidus's angry chocobo.

            "Watch it, K-chan! It can really get mad sometimes."

            Kerry didn't respond and just walked to the bird, both hands up.

            "It's alright," she said to the chocobo.

            The big bird looked at her with an angry face but didn't do anything seeing she wasn't threatening. Kerry walked slowly with swift moves, never quick not to scare it.

            "Easy," she said with a soft voice.

            The chocobo turned to her completely and looked at her curiously. She raised one of her hands, palm first to the bird's head.

            The other riders arrived in the meantime and Carole signalled for them to keep quiet and still, never leaving her eyes off the scene. It was almost hypnotizing.

            The chocobo raised it's head first and Kerry stopped. Carole was holding her breath, thinking what she would do if the creature would decide to bite her hand off.

            Kerry looked at the chocobo right in the eyes, allowing it to see her thoughts. The bird and her seemed to be breathing as one for a moment, then the chocobo lowered it's head and allowed her to rub it with a happy 'kweh!'

            "Wow..." Tidus trailed off.

            The others were all speechless. She tamed an angry chocobo! No one could claim ever doing that!

            Carole dismounted and slowly walked to her pupil.

            "How..." she started unable to continue.

            "I always had that gift with animals. I guess that's why our own didn't get mad at me."

            "It's amazing! Can you do that with any animal?"

            "Nearly. Only monsters are off my reach but sometimes, I wish I could talk to them, understand them. I pity them even though I know they attack humans."

            "Are we going to spend the rest of the day here?" Lulu interrupted. "That's fascinating but if we don't hurry, Kimahri and Auron are going to be there before us."

            "You're just mad because you're not comfortable on your chocobo," Yuna giggled.

            With her heavy dress and the many belts covering the skirt, it wasn't easy to move. Like Yuna, she had to keep her legs on the same side of the chocobo, not allowing it to go very fast and with the weight always pulling her down, she was constantly afraid of falling. 

            "Are we in that a hurry?" Tidus asked getting back on his chocobo after thanking Kerry.

            "We must reach Djose soon, ya? Another temple to visit. While we waste time here, Sin destroys other towns."

            "I guess you have a point... I'm sorry boy," Tidus said scratching the chocobo's neck.

            It seemed to have forgiven him.

            "Let's go then," Carole said helping Kerry back on the chocobo before climbing behind her.

            The chocobo riders started moving again on the road.

            The day was going by when they reached a gate guarded with two people. They disembarked and the chocobos almost reluctantly went to a fence and then to some food a chocobo handler gave them.

            There was a carriage in front of the gate and some nasty noises coming from inside.

            "What's in that thing?" Selphie asked.

            "Who knows?"

            "That's a shame!" someone exclaimed from the gate.

            A woman and a big guy were facing a guard who seemed to keep them from going through.

            "Sorry m'am. No one is allowed to pass until Operation Mi'ihen is over."

            "You would dare to interrupt a summoner's pilgrimage?"

            "Sorry m'am, no one may pass."

            "Foolishness!" the woman said before turning her back on the guard and going aside to the fence.

            Then she caught sight of Yuna.

            "They won't even let summoners through," she said.

            "Who's that?" Carole asked in a whisper?

            "That's Dona," Tidus answered in a whisper as well. "She's another summoner and that muscle head is her Guardian, Barthello."

            "Just him?"

            "Yeah, she made fun of Yuna in Kilika temple for having so many Guardians."

            "Mmph... I don't like her..."

            "It seems you like to surround yourself with a lot of people, Yuna," Dona started.

            She scanned the crew and frowned.

            "They look like cold-hearted killers to me."

            "What the hell?" Zell started raising a fist.

            Rachel stopped him from doing anything rash.

            "And short-tempered as well. Where are your Ronso friend and sir Auron?"

            "Right here," a voice cut in.

            Auron walked forward with Kimahri right behind. Kimahri went to Yuna's side and folded his arms.

            "To have so many guardians... Maybe you'll be lucky enough to make it to Zanarkand but how many will be left?"

            "We're not her guardians," Carole interrupted. "We have our own quest it just happens that we're going the same way."

            "They're my friends, what is wrong in travelling with friends?"

            "The only thing wrong is wasting time talking to that stupid girl and her no-brain guardian!" Tidus said. "Let's see what we can do with those guards."

            He went towards the gate as Dona was tracing him with a mad frown.

            "Some of your guardian should know their place..."

            She walked away with Barthello behind.

            "What's with her?!" Selphie asked.

            "I like her outfit," Irvine joked.

            "Irvy!"

            "Come on, you know you're the only one for me!"

            The rest of the group followed Tidus. The carriage moved through the gate with the nasty sound ringing again inside. The guard caught sight of Yuna. She stepped forward with her guardians while Carole and her crew stayed a bit behind.

            "Hey, you're a summoner and her guardians, right? Sorry for the inconvenience."

            "Could you tell us about this operation?"

            "Saw that carriage?"

            "What was in it?" Wakka asked.

            "A Sin spawn."

            "A what?" Tidus exclaimed.

            "We are gathering spawns here to lure Sin here since Sin always comes back for it's spawns. Then we have Al Behd firing a huge cannon at it! The Crusaders are participating as well."

            "Al Behd?!" Wakka exclaimed.

            "Defeating Sin is our common goal," the guard said. "They are proving themselves useful."

            He pointed the guard next to him.

            "If you have any spare money, we'd accept a donation to help us."

            Carole stepped forward and handed some gils to the guard. It was the same money they were using and she still had plenty left from her last payment.

            "Thank you very much," the guard said. "Your money will be put to good use."

            Yuna turned from the guard to her guardians.

            "We can't get through so I guess we'll have to wait..."

            "Let them through!" a voice said.

            Everyone turned to the gate and from the other side of it, a familiar face was coming to them.

            "Isn't that Seymour we saw in Luca?"

            "Yeah, that's him..." Tidus said frowning.

            He didn't like Seymour at all, neither did the SeeDs. All felt that he shouldn't be trusted.

            "Maester Seymour!" the guard exclaimed.

            "Lady Yuna and her friends are my guest. I'll take them to the Command Center."

The guard bowed to the Maester of Yevon and let the crew pass to join Seymour. "Come with me, this way," he said.

            They took a separate road going down to the left while the main road was going further.

            "Operation Mi'ihen is really important for both Yevon's children and the Al Behd..."

            "But... The teachings! They're using Machina!"

            "Pretend you didn't see it."

            Yuna and her guardians appeared in shock.

            "Maester Seymour! Should you say somethin' like that?"

            "Pretend I didn't say it then. We all have the same goal: defeat Sin so why not work together to achieve it?"

            "I can't believe it!" Wakka exclaimed.

            Seymour smiled and walked forward.

            Carole frowned. From what she knew, Yevon and Al Behd were not good together but Seymour seemed to think it wasn't bad, that it was right. Personnaly, she agreed, but others didn't seem to.

            "I guess we have no choice, I'm going." Carole said.

            She walked after Seymour, holding her necklace. There was something, a strange feeling that didn't want to go away. She couldn't tell what it was. Was it a warning or the feeling that this was it? That she would finally find him?

            "I'm going too, C-chan."

            Carole never doubted that. She felt like Kerry would follow her to hell if it was needed. She just hoped it would not happen.

            The rest of Carole's friends followed their leader. Yuna walked in as well, with her guardians but Wakka seemed reluctant. Then he followed as well, not forgetting his role as a summoner's guardian.

            The rock road was hard under the feet of people not used to it but the group still managed. Rachel was thinking her sister was going faster than usual. She was always fast but she seemed nervous.

            "Wait up Carole, there's no rush!"

            Kerry had a hard time to keep up with her but she tried. Carole stopped all of a sudden, nearly causing Kerry to bump into her. The SeeD shook her head. 

            "Sorry about that, I was..."

            She wasn't sure what's gotten into her. She felt dragged to that place wherever it was, and called as well, but the call wasn't coming from the same way she was being dragged to. What was happening to her, she had no clue but she wanted it to stop quickly before it would drive her nuts.

            "What's wrong?" Audrey asked. "You look weird!"

            "I'm sorry I just... I feel like I'm gonna..."

            She shook her head.

            "Nevermind, let's get going!"

            She started walking again at a slower pace and Kerry could finally slow down as well.

            They walked in separate groups once more. Carole in the front with Kerry, Tidus and Audrey, worried for her friend, but also hasty to see if they would find their remaining friends soon. Adam joined in as well. Yuna and her guardians were in the center and the others in the back: Dave, Quistis, Rachel, Zell, Irvine and Selphie.

            Along the way, they encountered some monsters easily dealt with, and Crusaders giving them some stuff that could be useful to them.

            They climbed on rising pillars with Yevon signs on it, they climbed hills, fought more monsters for a while until they noticed Luzzu running in front of them. They arrived next to a Machina that looked like an elevator to the SeeDs and their friends. A bit farther, Luzzu was standing.

            Yuna and her guardians went to him since he was a friend. The others remained a bit aside. They started talking about the past. Then Luzzu decided to say something he kept for himself for too long.

            "About your brother," he told Wakka. "I was the one who convinced Chappu to join the Crusaders that day."

            "Luzzu!" Lulu exclaimed.

            Wakka clenched his fist and hit Luzzu across the face so hard he lost his balance and fell.

            "Ouch!" Zell said.

"Chappu said... That after the tournament, he'd propose to Lulu..."

            Lulu was looking away with sadness, her hands together on her skirt. 

"But he also said," Luzzu started getting up. "Being with your girl is nice, but being able to keep Sin away from her is better."

Wakka turned to Lulu and she looked up to him.

            "You knew?" he asked.

            "Luzzu told me before we left Besaid."

            "She hit me too," Luzzu said with a laugh.

            He walked towards the elevator.

            "Hey Luzzu!" Wakka called.

            Luzzu spun around.

            "Don't die out there!"

            "So you can hit me more?"

            "Lots, lots more!" Wakka said punching his forearm.

            "Aww, that was so sweet!" Selphie said on the verge of tears.

            Carole understood the feeling only too well. The guy sacrificed his life for the one he loved, she would do the same if there ever would be a need. She'd give her life away for any of her friends, like she said during her exam what seemed like so long ago.

            Once they were done putting themselves together, they stepped on the elevator to be brought up. Then they disembarked and walked through a bunch of cages containing Sin spawns and some small cannons scattered next to a cliff. Wakka walked to one of them and kicked it hard.

            "Damn Machina! Ow!"

            He started jumping on a single foot, holding the one he kicked the Machina with. He still couldn't believe this was happening. The Crusaders and Al Behd teaming up for the same goal: defeating Sin. 

            They were all looking around, wondering if it would work. Quistis held her chin in her palm, not so sure about it. They had a quick look of Sin on the vessel to Kilika and it seemed too big to be defeated by such small weaponry.

            As they were looking around, they could see Al Behd working on the cannons.

            "Wait... huh... Feyd!" a familiar voice said to someone else.

            The SeeDs and their friends all widened their eyes and looked at one cannon in particular where an Al Behd was working with a young man wearing a grey trench coat.

            "Oh Hyne!" Quistis whispered.

            "Seifer!" Audrey exclaimed running towards the young man.

            Seifer looked up and his face lightened up as his jaw dropped when he saw the group and the girl running to him. He stood up and opened his arms to the running girl who jumped into them. He held her tight as she was burrying her face in his chest, tears rolling down her eyes.

            The others quickly joined her with smiles and exclamations of joy. Left behind, Yuna and her guardians were looking at the reunion.

            "That should only leave two left," Tidus thought outloud.

            "How did you find me?" Seifer asked.

            "We followed a summoner and her guardians and we ended up here! Oh I missed you so much!"

            Seifer looked up at the others. 

            "It's so good to see you again! And I know someone who's gonna be glad to see you, Carole."

            The girl held her necklace on an impulse and felt her heart beat a bit faster with hope.

            "Everyone!" A female voice called. 

            They all turned around and saw Rinoa running to them.

            "Adam!"

            "Rinoa!"

            The two jumped into each other's arms and held tight before kissing. Carole had a smile but also felt a bit of pain. He should be here as well, but where?

            "I thought I'd never see you again..." Adam said holding tight.

            "I was sure I would see you again, that you would not leave me!"

            "What are you doing here?" Zell asked the two.

            "We appeared around here and we were completely lost. These people called the Crusaders took us in and shared food with us with the condition we'd help," Seifer explained. "They were more than kind, the Al Behd as well but I hear they're not welcome anywhere."

            Carole was on the verge of bursting up as she was looking around. Veronique said they were together and there were Seifer and Rinoa so there was only Squall left. Where was he?

            Rachel turned her head and suddenly she froze. Her face took a surprised expression then a smile appeared.

            "Carole..." she said to attract her attention.

            The girl turned to her sister and followed her gaze. Then it was her turn to freeze. Her head started buzzing and she felt the heat get stronger and stronger she feared she would faint. There he was, just around the corner of those cloth panels. He was looking at her almost with the same expression she had except he had a smile of relief. Her feet felt like stone, they refused to move, her heart was pounding she thought it was shaking the ground.  All her friends were looking at her feeling happy for her. Finally after what seemed like so long to her, he was there. After she felt so lonely even though she was surrounded by friends, there he was to make it all better, like nothing ever happened. She had to move, she had to go to him, but it was as if her soul left her body from the overjoy.

            "Squall..." she whispered.

            One or her foot finally moved but too slow, like she was disconnected from it. Her face changed for a wide smile as tears filled her eyes and flowed down her cheeks like she has been keeping them in for a very long time. 

A/N: That will be enough... hehe... sorry it took so long to write this one but I got confused and lacked inspiration for a time... But now it's back and lots of action is coming! Turned of events as well! I'll try and make it fast! Oh and don't forget to review!


	11. Chapter 10: Operation Mi'ihen

A/N: Next chapter up! I'm really back now! Lots of things are pushing around in my mind and I just hope I can type it down without too much confusion! Enjoy! (I hope you do!) Oh and watch it! There will be some sexual matters in this one!

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Chapter 10: Operation Mi'ihen 

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            Everyone was waiting for the moment she would just find it in her to get back the control of her legs and run like mad towards the one who was the source of her sorrow for the past few days. Even Tidus. When he saw her face as she was looking at that guy who just appeared, he knew it was the one. Yuna felt something close to joy, joy for her friend.

            She surprised everyone as she just kept walking towards him. He did the same but the face he was showing was clearly one of relief and joy to see her. The reason that she decided not to run despite the urge pulling her inside, was because of who she was: a responsible leader. Her friends let out their joy of seeing their lost lover, she couldn't, she refused. There would be plenty of time for that later. He was facing her, he wouldn't go anywhere now.

            Once she was facing him, their was still that urge to jump into his arms and forget everything. She knew the others were expecting it, but she managed to hide her true sorrow until now, she would now hide her joy. 

            "Hey..." she started with a hoarse voice.

            She coughed a bit to clear her throat then smiled at him again.

            "How as it been?"

            "Well, you see, I'm here with Seifer and Rinoa."

            "Eh... See? I got everyone here! They made me leader, just like that!"

            "I knew you could do it, I knew you'd find your way here with everyone."

            He looked behind her.

            "Seems you got new friends as well."

            "Yeah, Lady Yuna who is a summoner and her guardians."

            "A summoner? Like Maester Seymour?"

            "You already met him? Well you can say that."

            Behind her, Rachel slapped her forehead and Zell arched an eyebrow at the scene.

            "What the hell is she waiting for?!"

            "Dummy... You've been waiting for so long, come on, give him the kiss of his life!"

            In fact, that's exactly what  Carole wanted to do, but she would fight it. If she couldn't resist it now, she'd never be able to let him go and she knew they still had a lot in front of them.

            Squall placed a hand on her shoulder and saw something close to guilt in her eyes. Then he looked behind her again and noticed everyone staring at them, apparently waiting for the touching reunion scene. He grabbed her hand.

            "Come on, we don't have much time until they start with Operation Mi'ihen and I want to be alone with you for a while..."

            Not waiting for an answer, he pulled her with him in the Command Center perimeter.

            "What the fuck?!" Rachel exclaimed upset. "Selfish! They won't show us anything!"

            "Well, I can understand they want to be alone," Adam said. "With all of us staring..."

            "I guess you're right..."

            Kerry was still looking the way Carole was gone. She never left her side before. She knew she had all rights to want and be alone with her futur husband but she felt lonely all of a sudden.

            "Wanna come with me?"

            Kerry looked up a bit startled at the sound of Tidus' voice.

            "Let's go take a look. She's not gone, she just wants a little time alone with him."

            "Yeah... that was Squall Leonhart, the one I heard so much about. When I entered Garden, I didn't have the time to see him with all the people pushing around in that panic."

            Tidus stood up and also looked the way the couple was gone. He barely had the time to see him. He thought that there would be plenty of time to know him later.

            The rest of the gang also went towards the entrance of the Command Center. Right next to it, stood a familiar face, Gatta, complaining that he wanted to participate in the attack with the other Crusaders instead of standing guard.

            "You have to follow your orders, believe my own experience, disobeying will take you nowhere," Seifer said.

            "It's just that I'm so mad! I became a Crusader to fight Sin, not to guard cloth walls!"

            "It's part of the job, man."

            "I guess so," he gave up still unhappy with his situation.

            They stepped in and Auron met with an old friend, Kinoc now a Maester as well as Seymour. As they were reuniting, behind a cloth held on the stone wall, Carole and Squall were sharing some time alone.

            "I couldn't wait anymore, I would have bursted up!" she said as she hugged him tight.

            He hugged her back.

            "Me neither."

            Then she thought of something and freed herself from him a bit rudely.

            "What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

            "Squall... I'm ashamed but... I doubted you..."

            "Huh?"

            "In Besaid, I had this dream where we are together but then Rinoa appears and you leave with her! I couldn't get it out of my head and felt like it could happen..."

            Squall had a smile that she didn't see since she was keeping her head down.

            "Don't you trust me?"

            "That's what I'm ashamed of! If I couldn't believe in you, how can I expect you to believe in me?!"

            She looked away, truly ashamed.

            "But when I saw Rinoa, I knew she really loved Adam and when I saw you..."

            He held her in his arms again.

            "You want me to prove you are the only one for me?"

            The girl didn't say anything, wondering what he'd do. He pushed her hair aside, grabbed the small collar hiding her neck and pulled it down to kiss her neck several times, gently suckling at it. Then he brought his kisses back up to her ear, then her face and he kissed her mouth a long time, holding her tight. She was burning up and she knew he could feel it. She knew that feeling, she knew it very well. One of his hands was holding her waist and the other went up her back, then to her stomach and up. The single button holding her jacket closed was unbuttonned and the hand that did it moved up under the jacket to her chest.

            _NO!_

Caught in the fever of the moment, Carole didn't pay attention to the scream, she didn't even hear it. That scream echoing in her head disapeared right away, leaving no trace.

            "I missed you so much," Squall said in a soft whisper.

            "I... do you think we should do that?"

            "The others won't disturb us, they know we have a lot to say to each other..."

            His free arm wrapped around her shoulders as the other hand was still having it's way with her breasts. Her heart was pounding but it wasn't the time for this. The others were probably in a meeting to know what to do next. She just wished she wouldn't care and just enjoy the moment. Her breath was fast and her heart racing in her chest but there was something wrong, in the back of her mind, a tiny light she couldn't see was saying it was wrong but the strength and urge of Squall's kisses was putting everything else aside. She tried to find the strength in her to push him away, she had to. Not here in plain day, they would get a hotel later and have all the time they'd want.

            She took his hand and pulled it away from her breasts.

            "No," she said a bit unsure first. "Not now."

            There was something in his eyes she couldn't identify what it was so she looked at the ground.

            "You're right," he said. "I'm sorry, when I saw you I just felt the urge to... I'm sorry."

            She buttonned her jacket and went to leave when Squall wrapped his arms around her waist and held on tight. 

            "Don't ever leave me again," he whispered in her ear before kissing her neck again.

            "I'm not going anywhere you can't find me, Squall. Let's join the others I have a feeling they're gonna need our help."

            When they stepped out of their hideout, Carole felt like she was being watched. She had a frown and turned around to look up the stone wall behind her. She scanned the top but didn't see anything.

            "What's wrong?" Squall asked placing a hand on her shoulder.

            "No, nothing... it must be Veronique again..."

            "Who?"

            "We have a lot to talk about..."

            On top of the mountain, two laser blue eyes were looking down to the scene. The sun reflected in those eyes and the big furry creature spun around to leave at incredible spead.

            While Yuna and her guardians were being told what they could do during the operation, the others were telling each other what they already knew about Veronique who could be a Sorceress.

            "Another one?" Seifer exclaimed. "I can't believe it!"

            "But I don't think she is from our world though... She seems to know us for watching us for a while but it seems she lives between worlds, granting her access to any of them," Carole said.

            "So that means we're stuck here until she feels like letting us go," Squall stated.

            The others nodded sadly.

            Kerry was standing by Carole's side again, nervously looking at Squall who was standing on Carole's other side. Feeling watched, he turned to her.

            "You're Kerry, right? Sorry to take your teacher from you."

            "N... no it's okay! Really, after all, you'll be married soon!"

            "Yeah, I just wish we could know when exactly..."

            "You could always get married here," a voice cut in.

            Tidus decided to join in to get acquainted with the unknown people who just joined in.

            "This is a nice place and all, but it's not our home!" Selphie said. "Would you want to stay here?"

            "No, that's true, I can't wait to go home. But I guess I must face the alternative."

            "I wouldn't be able to take it!" Rinoa said. "I want to go home!"

            "We all do, Rin, but it does no good to complain about it yet..." Adam said.

            Tidus turned to Carole.

            "So this is the infamous Squall, isn't it?"

            "And you are?" Squall asked.

            "Name's Tidus, star player of the Zanarkand Abes, not that you would know..."

            "Or care," Squall joked.

            They shook hands and Tidus widened his eyes in amazement.

            "Wow, you got a strong grip!"

            Then he noticed the gunblade dangling next to his hip.

            "You got a gunblade too? And you're good?" he teased.

            Squall shrugged.

            "I guess I must be since I saved the world back home..."

            "Well you sure can talk, let's see what you're made of!" Tidus challenged taking out Brotherhood.

            Squall had a small smile and took out LionHeart and swung it so fast Tidus never saw it coming. LionHeart hit Brotherhood so hard Tidus had to let go to keep his hands in place. Then he fell, in complete awe. Squall placed his gunblade back in place and looked at the now dumbfounded Tidus.

            "Practice a little first, then maybe I'll show some interest in you."

            He held his hand to him and Tidus took it without a word then he went to take Brotherhood back, blushing and feeling shame for being beated up even before starting...

            Squall turned back to the others who were all staring at him with wide eyes, speechless, even Carole.

            "What?"

            "Since when do you put all your strength in a fight with someone you don't even know?" Carole asked. "You didn't even give him a chance! Now you've hurt his pride pretty badly!"

            Squall scratched the back of his head.

            "Sorry, it's been so long since I last fought I wasn't thinking... I'll go apologize..."

            Squall left the group to go after Tidus, the others tracing him.

            "What's with him?" Zell asked. "He never did that before?!"

            "Even I don't remember him ever doing something like that," Seifer said.

            Carole held on the Griever necklace and traced him, trying to ignore the uneasy squeezing she felt in her chest.

            "Wait!" Squall called. "Tidus!"

            The blitzer stopped and turned around, obviously offended.

            "Glad you remember my name!" he said rather coldly.

            Squall caught up with him and placed himself in front of him.

            "Look, I'm sorry for what I just did... I don't know what came over me, I never used to do such stupid things!"

            "Well you just did, so go back to your girl and leave me alone! Personnally, I don't know what she sees in you!"

            "Leave her out of this! She went through a lot in the past and a lot recently too so just be nice to her, okay? You can call me whatever you want but leave her alone!"

            Tidus looked at Squall's face a moment then closed his eyes and smiled.

            "I see now why she likes you... You place her in first of everything, don't you?"

            "Well, I did die to save her..."

            "She told me about that... what was it like?"

            Squall arched an eyebrow.

            "Why do you ask?"

            "You know what it is, but a lot of people would be curious to know what's on the other side, to know where they'll go when it's over, know what I mean?"

            "Yeah... I can tell you, but it's not real nice like some people may think..."

            Seeing the misunderstanding seemed to have been disolved, the gang was called by an running Crusader. A young man with skin darker than the others, showing he was from a different country.

            "You are the SeeDs' friends?" he asked.

            "Most of us are SeeDs," Rachel said. 

            "Oh, sorry. I only knew Seifer, Squall and Rinoa so..."

            "It's alright, Jay," Seifer reassured the nervous young man.

            "What is it?" Rinoa asked.

            "Well, we were wondering if you would all participate in Operation Mi'ihen?"

            "We can?" Zell asked. "Sure we could.... hum, if our leader doesn't mind..."

            Everyone turned to Carole waiting for an answer. Seifer and Rinoa wanted to repay the kindness and most of the others wanted to see if this plan would work.

            "What should we do?"

            "Someone has to fight Sin's spawn so it will call out to it. Then the Chocobo Knights will stay on the beach for a ground attack. The Al Behd are gonna attack it with their small cannons to distract it from our finest weapon: that big cannon over there!"

            He pointed at something sticking out of the water a bit farther.

            "Wow, that's huge!" Selphie exclaimed. "Sin doesn't stand a chance!"

            "Don't be too sure about that," someone cut in.

            Auron approached the young people with his sword on his shoulder.

            "What do you mean?" Dave asked.

            "It won't work, Kinoc said it'll probably not work."

            "You mean people will die?" Audrey aked. "And for nothing?"

            Everyone stared at Auron.

            "Maybe... but then, you never know..."

            And he went away.

            "I hate him," Kerry said frowning. "He's so pessimist!"

            "I must say I understand his point though," Quistis said. "I was wondering how this could work against a being that was never really killed for the past thousand years..."

            "You do have a point," Carole said. "They seem to think only the final summonning can defeat it..."

            "But if it always comes back, what's the point?" Rachel wondered.

            "Don't say it isn't worth it!"

            Yuna approached.

            "Well, we can wonder if it is," Irvine stated.

            "Even if their's the slightest chance that it might not come back, we have to take it, or even if it'll come back, at least there will be a time with no Sin at all!"

            "Sorry, Yuna..." Carole apologized. "We don't really understand because we don't know what it's like to live like this. Forgive us..."

            Yuna shook her head.

            "It's alright. It's not your fault. I envy you though, living in a world with no Sin..."

            Carole turned to the Crusader Seifer called Jay.

            "So, Jay," she started with a fist on her hip. "What will be our job?"

            Everyone was getting ready. The Al Behd got their cannons ready including the big one by the beach. The Chocobo Knights were all standing on the beach, ready for a ground attack. The only thing left was for the others to release the Sin spawn and attack it. Squall was on the team to attack the spawn. Carole, Kerry, Seifer, Dave, Rachel and Zell were with the Knights. Carole thought it wasn't the right time for Kerry to attack something this big. This Sin Spawn was particular, it was a mix of more spawns put together. It was big but nothing could be close to as big as Sin was.

            There was some electricity released in the small tent where the spawns were placed. Then something huge came out of it and jumped right where the awaiting fighters were standing. Squall took his gunblade out and stood ready to give commands. First they needed to observe it a while to know what it was capable of.

            He attempted to attack the middle of it but the two clawed arms each side of it wrapped around itself to protect the middle, reducing the damage to nothing. Squall jumped backward to avoid a swing of those arms. Then the small head which seemed to have feet, started moving strangely.

            "What do you think?" Tidus asked keeping Brotherhood in hand but never looking away from the spawn.

            "I don't know, I'm still unfamiliar with the fiends from this world..."

            Suddenly, the head gave out a strange aura and a spell was released. It hit almost everyone in sight.

            "Alright, I guess this thing casts magic... Alright, I want every shooters on that head! Adam, Irvine, Wakka... Got it? These arms seem to have some sort of armor so the best blades will have to take care of it! Then the middle will be a piece of cake!"

            Adam shot some arrows, Wakka threw his Blitz ball at the head, Irvine stood a bit afar and shot with his Exeter. Lulu decided to give a helping hand by casting some of her own spells on the head. The arms gave more shot at the people attacking it. Would any damage exceed too much, Yuna would make it better with her own recovery magic.

            The head was destroyed before it could have the chance to cast more spells.

            "Good!" Squall exclaimed. "Now, the arms!"

            He also participated in that assault. LionHeart was strong enough to cut anything, plus with the trigger, it could do major damage.

            Kimahri and Auron attacked the arms as well. Audrey, Quistis and Selphie were starting to wonder if they'd ever be able to do anything. Quistis was looking at the beach from time to time, wondering if there was any sign of Sin, and also fearing for her boyfriend's life. Remembering he was not alone down there, she tried to focus on the fight.

            One of the arms was desintegrated so with only one left, it should be a piece of cake.

            Tidus decided to help as well even though Brotherhood wasn't made to fight this kind of armored fiend. He still wanted to help, he hated being left aside. After what Squall told him about death, he wanted to make sure no one would ever have to face it. A cold and lonely place where you have nothing to do except wait. But wait for what, Squall didn't know.

            _Then again, maybe it was like that only because I wasn't really dead yet... Maybe I was waiting for Carole to get me back, I don't know... I try not to think about it..._

And Tidus could understand very well.

            He gave his all in the blow he delivered to the arm and did some damage even though not as much as the others. Auron attacked right after him and the second arm was history.

            "Let's go!" Squall exclaimed.

            Audrey, Quistis and Selphie came to do their part of the job in attacking the middle of it. With nothing left to protect it from the deadly strikes, it was damaged pretty badly. But after a while, the arms reappeared.

            "What?" Squall exclaimed.

            "It regenerated itself!" Auron warned.

            "Thanks, I noticed," Squall replied. "I guess we have to do it again!"

            They attacked the arms again but it took less time to take them down. Then they could concentrate on the middle again.

            "Will you go away!" Tidus exclaimed as he striked.

            The spawn started shaking strangely.

            "Get back!" Squall said waving his arm back.

            Everyone did except Tidus. He seemed frozen.

            "Tidus!" Yuna exclaimed with fear.

            Squall dropped his gunblade and ran as fast as he could and pulled Tidus out of the way half a second before the spawn collapsed. It fell right next to the two men. Tidus shook the surprise out of him and turned to Squall.

            "Wow... you saved me!"

            "Stupid!" Squall exclaimed a bit mad. "I told you to get out of the way!"

            "I... I didn't hear... It was like I couldn't move at all!"

            "It's alright," Squall softened placing a friendly hand on his shoulder.

            He got up and handed Tidus a helping hand. 

            "You're not bad at all!" he asid. "I guess I just caught you by surprise earlier, I underestimated you!"

            "Stop trying to make up to it, would you? I already said it's alright!"

            From behind the group, Seymour arrived and went to stand next to Yuna.

            "Now we wait," he said.

            Squall went to get his gunblade back then went to stand on the cliff with the others to watch what was to come.

            A huge shadow was closening in the sea. Getting closer and closer and slowly emerging from the water.

            "Sin!!!" Someone screamed.

            The Al Behd small cannons started firing at it. Some tiny pieces of Sin were torn off it and fell in the water but something else was released as well. Tiny monsters fell in the sea and swimmed to the shore. Lucil, the captain from the chocobo knights raised her sword and swung it towards the upcoming fiends.

            "Charge!"

            The Knights and her started dashing towards the sea with force screaming, their armored chocobos 'kwehing'. Carole and her friends ran along.

            "Alright! About time!" Zell exclaimed.

            They came upon the fiends and everyone gave their all. Zell beating them to a pulp, Dave piercing them, Carole, Seifer, Rachel and Kerry slashing them along with the knights trying their best to avoid the fiends' attacks of their teeth and claws on their legs or their arms. They tried not to look at the huge Sin standing not that far from them. 

Something started happening. Sin was enwrapped in some kind of barrier and started giving off a strange aura, building up energy.

            Something itched in the back of Carole's head and she looked up after slashing in two the fiend she had in front of her. She saw Sin build up that aura and a bad feeling came to her.

            "What now?"

            Sin released its aura right towards the beach. With everyone else busy fighting to keep fiends ashore, Carole was the only one to see the upcoming threat that would probably kill them all. She looked around her with some horror and saw her friends not far from her. She looked back at the attack wave coming and spread her arms and lowered her head before shutting her eyes. She did it all in an impulse, not sure what good it could be. Screams were heard when the wave hit and vanished right away, desintagrating nearly everything in its path.

            The wave was so strong it even knocked uncounscious most people on the cliff. Yuna woke up, a bit dizzy and turned around at the sound of fighting. The spawn they just defeated was standing behind her, revitalized. Maester Seymour was fighting it. She couldn't let him fight alone so she joined him. Auron who wasn't very far joined in as well. With Seymour's more than powerful magics and considering the fiend was already in bad shape, this would be easy.

            Meanwhile, others were on their knees on the edge of the cliff, desperate to find their friends alive since they were all there when Sin attacked.

            "Dave..." Quistis trailed off.

            "Everyone..." Selphie said as Irvine placed a hand on her shoulder.

            Then they all turned to Squall, wondering how he was doing but they were surprised to see that he unexpectedly didn't seem as pained as the others.

            "No... they're still alive, all of them! I know it! They have to because Carole is with them... she'd never let them die!"

            They wanted to believe it as much as he did but what could a simple human being do against an attack powerful enough to annihilate an entire town?

            Once again, Sin's spawn was defeated and this time, permenantly. Seymour was very strong and could be a wonderful foe. Luckily he was a Maester of Yevon and on their side or he would have been quite an enemy to deal with.

            Then it was time for the Al Behd'd special weapon to come in play! They had more than enough time to get it ready, the only thing left was to shoot that thing up!

            Sin turned to it, like it was feeling the threat. The cannon shot a huge mass of energy but with the shield Sin had around itself, it was just blowing on it leaving Sin undamaged.

            On the cliff, Yuna was keeping her hands joined together, praying this would work, Seymour standing right behind her, expressionless.

            The shot was pushing through Sin's shield slowly. As it seemed it would work, something happened on Sin's shield. Next to where the cannon was shooting, something started building up and shot toward the cannon. It hit at the moment Sin's shield blew up. Unfortunately, the cannon was blown up as well and collapsed in the sea.

            "Ah!" Yuna screamed seeing that.

            With nothing else to destroy, Sin started turning around to leave. On the devastated beach, Tidus was frowning.

            "Don't you run away from me!" he exclaimed.

            He ran to the water and jumped in after Sin, after his father. He was swimming faster than he ever did. All the people who died because of that man, all the suffering and he would run away from his son?

            In fact, Tidus wasn't sure why he was going after it, more what he would do if he'd be able to catch up with it. Before he could realize it was foolish, he did catch up with it and the toxin was spread, surrounding him everywhere, causing everything to start spinning around him until he fainted. Then everything was calm again. Everything always turned calm anytime Sin would leave a place because usually, there was nothing left. But this time, people survived, but how many died for nothing?

A/N: So??? The number of people reading this fic is increasing so I decided I would do my best to please my fans! I don't have that many so I'll try and keep them! I hope you liked that! Maybe I should try to describe the fights a little more but can you imagine how long it would be if I'd do it? I think it's already pretty long as it is now don't you think? Don't forget to send me comments! Oh, and in upcoming chapters, there will be more adult stuff so don't say I didn't warn you!


	12. Chapter 11: Aftermath and Strange Shadow

_WARNING! There is adult stuff in this chapter! Maybe some will be hasty to go there but I know I have to warn! It's not hardcore though (sorry if that disapoints you)But at least, I gave my warning!_

Chapter 11: Aftermath and Strange Shadow

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            Tidus opened his eyes and tried to focus on what was in front of him. Rather over him. Two worried eyes but not a blue and a green one as he first thought it was. They were both brown and a twisted strand of hair was covering the left one. He knew that face. He blinked a few times to clear the blur he had in front of him then he could clearly see the face.

            "You okay?" Carole asked with concern.

            Tidus widened his eyes and suddenly sat up and grabbed her tight in his arms.

            "I should be the one asking that! I was sure I saw... that you..."

            He released her, realizing what he was doing then he turned to her with a curious frown.

            "Sin attacked, didn't it? It attacked the beach! The attack that blew out Kilika and you were all on the beach! How?"

            Carole turned around and Tidus followed her gaze. The others were all standing there somewhere. Quistis was holding on Dave tightly.

            "I was sure you were dead! That I would never see you again!"

            "It's all right, Quisty. I'm fine, see?"

            Yuna was apparently performing a sending. Tidus thought that as long as Sin would be around, Yuna would dance. It was not the first he was seeing it, and he knew it wasn't the last one either.

            "What happened?" Tidus asked as he got up. 

            Carole got up after him and seemed nervous.

            "I don't know, it's just..."

            "Everything around us was blown away, even the sand but where we were, nothing happened!" Seifer said with a frown. "Like there was something around us, to protect us."

            "Protect?" Tidus stated suspisciouly turning to Carole.

            The girl was looking away, nervous and somewhat scared.

            _Again..._ Tidus thought. _It sounds like what happened when she fell overboard on the way to Kilika... What did she do this time?_

"No one saw anything?" Tidus asked Seifer.

            The blong guy shook his head.

            "We were busy fighting and we never saw it coming..."

            Carole walked away to take a look at the scattered bodies around the beach. In a corner next to the collapsed cannon, Gatta was holding his head, in shock.

            "What's going on? What's going on?!" he yelled.

            They were all tricked. They really believed it could work but it didn't. Others knew it wouldn't and didn't say anything. All this for countless deaths and nothing else.

            Auron was talking with Tidus about Sin, his father. That he came to see him but since he was Sin, he killed and he would kill as long as he would be Sin.

            Squall and the others were standing aside, hardly believing they lived through that. The SeeD turned to his future wife and smiled at her.

            "So he's alright?"

            "Yeah. It seems the toxin didn't get to him too much."

            "Good."

            Quistis turned to Squall, a bit surprised.

            "Hey, Squall, how did you know they would all be fine?"

            "I told you: Carole wouldn't have let anything happen to them."

            "Was it her, then?" Rachel asked. "Was it her who protected us?"

            Everyone turned to Carole, making her pretty uneasy. She shook her hands in front of her.

            "Don't be stupid, how could I do something like that? I would have remembered!"

            She turned around to climb the hill to get on the road. In fact she couldn't remember a thing of what happened. She remembered seeing Sin unleash it's attack, then she spread her arms and... what happened after that? Obviously, the attack must have hit but she didn't remember any pain at all.

            "Worried face doens't suit Carole," a deep voice said.

            The girl looked up and widened her eyes in surprise seeing it was Kimahri who spoke.

            "Huh? I have worries just like everyone else! Even Yuna!"

            "So Carole knows. Yuna smiles so others smile too. Yuna doesn't want to see sad faces so Yuna smiles even when Yuna sad."

            "What about you Kimahri? Do you smile?"

            "For Yuna, yes."

            "Show me," Carole asked with a smile of curiosity.

            Kimahri's face twisted in an attempt of smiling but he looked rather scary that way.

            "Yeow! I think you should practice Kimahri!" she advised laughing.

            Kimahri seemed pleased to see her laugh.

            "Alright," she said. "I'll do my best and not worry too much."

            _Anyway, I think I'm more scared than worried, now._

_            Don't worry, I'm with you..._

She looked around but Squall wasn't there, he was still on the beach with the others. She could have sworn it was his voice she heard. It was faint, like far away and close in the same time. She held on her necklace for comfort. Then she wondered why she was still doing it. Since she found Squall, she shouldn't have to do it anymore but she did. Something was wrong and she wished it would just go away.

            The gang gathered on the hill to walk the road towards Djose Temple.

            In groups again, they walked on the rock road. There was a wall of rock to their left, and an opening on the sea to the right. There was also rock over their head. Some devastated Crusaders were standing on the way, handing them things they didn't need anymore. 

            Once more, they fought monsters on the way. They encountered Bite Bugs, Funguars, Garms, Bunyips, Ganderewa and a much more dreadful one, a Basilisk. They were always coming in groups of two. Carole thaught Kerry how to junction magics on stat-def. Since Kerry didn't have time ot collect any magics home and couldn't draw where she was, Carole split her own magics between the two. Squall was looking at her as she was doing so. He smiled.  
            "She's really protective of her, isn't she?"

            "You can say that," Dave said standing not far.

            "You should have seen what she did on Mi'ihen highroad!" Zell exclaimed.

            "Her Limit Break? I never had a chance to see it."

            "I'm sure we'll have the chance to see it again in the future." Rachel said.

            Somthing itched in the back of Carole's head like she was being watched again. She spun around. Nothing, once again.

            "Do you feel like we're being watched?" she asked around.

            "No, not for a while," Zell said. "Wonder what our Sorceress friend is doing?"

            "She always watched but we can't feel her since she's not in the world," Carole stated. "No, for a while, I always feel like something is watching me..."

            She scanned the place then something came out of the shadows and ran away at incredible speed. She pointed at it.

            "There! Did you see it?"

            Squall came to her side and looked at the place she was pointing but it was gone, there wasn't anything there.

            "What?" he asked.

            "Huh... It's gone... "

            She reached for the back of her head and smiled.

            "Forget it, I must be tired."

            "There's an Inn next to the temple, you'll be able to rest there," Auron told them from afar.

            "Good, thanks!"

            They started walking again as Kerry was getting familiar with her new abilities. Carole couldn't stop thinking about that feeling she had, always being watched. She could feel it not human, but not threatening... Could Veronique see them through that thing? No, she didn't feel it until they made it to Operation Mi'ihen. What could it be?

            She was so busy trying to figure it out she didn't notice the couple of Basilisk that came behind her.

            "C-chan!" Kerry exclaimed for she saw them.

            Carole turned around as the monster placed it's long arms each side of it's head and it's forehead started glowing.

            "Don't look!" someone screamed.

            It was the Basilisk's most deadly attack: Stone Gaze. Carole was hit and turned to stone.

            "C-chan!" Kerry exclaimed with fear.

            "Does anyone have softs?" Rachel asked with fear as she took out her axe.

            "I do!" Quistis told taking something out of her pockets. 

            She threw it over Carole and the stone statue she has turned into turned back into human form. From the surprise, the girl lost her balance and started breathing real fast, a hand on her chest. Squall came behind her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

            "Are you alright?" he inquired.

            "Y...yeah... I never got stoned before... It's... freaky!"

            "That's quite interresting but can we talk later?" Seifer asked.

            "Right!" Selphie exclaimed. "Let's blow these things to smithereens!"

            Most of the group fought while the others stood behind, on stand by. The two Basilisk never had the time to use another Stone Gaze, they were down before that.

            With the threat out, Kerry hurried to Carole.

            "C-chan, are you okay?"

            "I'm fine, Kerry, see?"

            The girl spun on herself to show she was just fine.

            "It... it was so strange..." the young girl said. "I never saw anyone turn to stone before..."

            "We're lucky it didn't happen to anyone else," Quistis said. "I'm short on softs."

            "There is also a shop in the Inn by the temple, you can restock there as well," Auron came and informed.

            "Good," Squall said. "Let's hurry, then."

            Then he lowered to Carole's ear only for her to hear.

            "I can't wait to be there..." he said in a soft whisper.

            The girl blushed slightly but smiled as well. She was curious of what he had in mind.

            They fought more monsters on the way but managed to avoid any more Basilisks. After quite a walk as the sun was coming down, the group made it to an intersection. A sign was telling that to the right was the road to Djose Temple while the left was the way to the Moonflow. Most of the people was tired and they just didn't mind asking what was the Moonflow. They mostly wanted a soft bed to lay on and a good night sleep. But Yuna and her Guardians knew there would be no rest for them until Yuna would get the Aeon in the Temple.

            They were stopped when they stood in front of a huge rock in the shpae of a mushroom. Yuna stepped forward and prayed. Then with buzzing noises, the rock seemed to explode but some electricity seemed to hold it around it orbitally.

            "Wow!" Zell exclaimed making a step backward. "What's that?"

            "Djose Temple," Wakka answered. "Since you're no Guardian, you can go ahead in the Inn and we'll take care of this."

            "Don't mind if I do!" Selphie said hurrying towards the building to the right.

            "Sefie, wait up!" Irvine called going after her.

            Rachel, Zell, Dave, Quistis, Rinoa and Adam headed for it as well, stretching themselves a bit. Audrey and Seifer remained next to Carole, Squall and Kerry. 

            "Hey what's that?" Kerry asked pointing something next to the temple, hidden behind bushes.

            "Isn't that Gatta?" Tidus asked taking a look.

            The guy seemed in shock again so Wakka hurried to him. He kneeled next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

            "Luzzu... he's... he was... torn in half!"

            Wakka widened his eyes in horror and Yuna placed a hand over her mouth. Then Wakka turned his head aside and shut his eyes with pain, clenching his fist.

            "That idiot! What was he thinking?"

            "I had enough!" Gatta exclaimed with pain and sorrow in his voice. "I'm going back to Besaid!"

            Wakka kept his hand on the guy's shoulder a while but he knew it wasn't much comfort. Then he slowly got up and turned to the others.

            "Let's go," he said in a low voice.

            "We'll be waiting at the Inn," Carole said. "Take your time."

            She tried to smile but she couldn't. What happened to Luzzu could have happened to them as well since they were there when Sin attacked. The others didn't ask too much and she didn't want to talk about it anyway. There was something fishy going on and the fact that she couldn't figure out what was really getting to her. She grabbed the Griever necklace she was still wearing, wondering why she was still doing it. A hand placed on her shoulder made her jump with surprise. She turned her head to Squall's smiling face.

            "Shall we go as well?"

            "Huh... sure!"

            With his arm wrapped around her, Squall lead her to the Inn while Yuna and her guardians were heading into the temple to meet another summoner named Isaaru and his brother guardians, Maroda and Pacce.

            Fortunately, the Inn had plenty of empty rooms so everyone could have a nice place to sleep in. The others waited to know the room arrangements. Kerry was looking at Carole, unsure when Adam crouched down to her.

            "Would you like to sleep with Rinoa and I tonight?"

            Carole wouldn't have forced Kerry to sleep with someone else but she really would have appreciated a little privacy with Squall and Adam knew it so that's why he offered it. Kerry realized that as well so she nodded.

            "You'll share a bed with me and Adam will sleep on the couch."

            "Thank you," Kerry said a bit shyly.

            Rachel took a room with Zell, Dave with Quistis, Irvine with Selphie, Seifer with Audrey and of course, Carole with Squall.

            "Sleep well everyone," Squall told them before they all entered their room. "We don't know if we'll be able to get another good night sleep for a while."

            Everyone nodded and entered the rooms, some yawning, others wishing to take a bath, others with something else in mind than sleep. Squall one of these and Carole knew it, she kinda felt it since her heart was pounding. She caught herself wondering if it was the reason why it was pounding or if her sixth sense wasn't trying to say something to her.

            She stepped in the room and took her jacket off, throwing it onto the couch.

            "I guess a nice warm bath would be welcome. I think maybe I should try and clean my clothes a little too..."

            She was cut off in her sentence when two arms wrapped around her from behind and a face was burried in her hair. She could also feel Squall's bare chest pressing against her back. 

            "You smell good," he whispered softly in her ear.

            "You must be joking, I don't remember the last time I took a bath..."

            Squall took a smell of her hair and tightened his grip around her. 

"I always thought that you smelled good no matter the circumstances..."

            He kissed her neck and started carressing the skin of her stomach. Then he brought one of his hands up to her chest and started caressing her breasts. His other hand took her chin to force her to turn around. She did then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed her with haste, threatening to swallow her whole. He ran his hands all over her back and down to her behind. He grabbed it and wouldn't let go. Trapped in the tight leather pants, it was almost as if she wasn't wearing anything. He brought a hand back to her neck and the other was pressing her against him. She could feel her body temperature going up and her head seemed to spin. Squall slid his hands under her sleeveless top and brough it up to take it off. With her topless, he didn't wait to bring his hands back to her breats and massage them a lot, strongly, hard. It seems to her like she could have a fever which was altering her senses. Wasn't something wrong? She couldn't stop to think about it, Squall was making sure she wouldn't think about anything but what he was doing to her. He only had his pants on when he took her up in his arms and carried her to the bed where he laid her before climbing on top of her. He kissed her with haste again, eagerly. She still had her arms wrapped around his neck and she ran her hands on his back, sometimes slightly digging her nails under his skin which he didn't seem to mind at all, on the contrary. It seemed to excite him that she enjoyed it.

            But something kept itching in the back of her mind. She could remember feeling that around operation Mi'ihen when Squall took her behind a cloth. That feeling that something was wrong, that someone was trying to talk to her, someone worried. Like he realized she was wandering off, Squall decided to do more. He took her pants off, leaving her naked on the bed. His hands were running all over just like his lips with eagerness, haste. She was so caught up she wished she wouldn't feel so strange and enjoy it. She wondered why he seemed so hasty, it hasn't been that long since the last time they did it.

            With a swift move, Squall completely undressed as well and laid on top of her. Having his warm body pressing on her was good. His hands were getting hastier if possible, wandering to her inner tighs and messing where he knew she liked he'd mess. She arched her back on the bed and let out moans she tried to bury. She wouldn't want the whole Inn to hear her. Squall looked at her straight in the eyes and she got a strange feeling from those eyes. They were shining with desire but... that's all there was. Those eyes weren't like the ones he placed on her on the morning she healed from her illness. 

            "I want you," he said with a strange voice. "Now."

            He brought his face to her chest and his lips and tongue grabbed a hold of her nipples. Then he came back over her face and gave her a quick kiss. He spread her legs and started moving in place to get inside of her. Her heart was pounding.

            _Why can't it just stop? What's wrong?_

Looking again at Squall's eyes, she finally figured out what was wrong. He was too hasty to get to the main course. Everything he did was done hastily, eagerly like he wanted to get rid of this to get real busy. And that desire she saw in his eyes, without any trace of love... As she figured out the truth, the uneasy feeling gave way to fear. She pushed him away from her and frowned as the sweat was rolling down each side of her face.

            "Who are you?" she asked really serious.

            Squall arched an eyebrow and smiled with innocence.

            "What do you mean who am I? I'm Squall of course, the one who loves you."

            The words just sounded totally wrong to her and she frowned even more.

            "You're not Squall! Who are you? Where is he?"

            'Squall' had a corner smile and a strange look took over his face.

            "So you figured it out, huh... No matter, I'll still get what I want!"

            He spread her legs wide, taking her by surprise and got ready.

            "No! Let go of me!" she objected pushing him away. 

            But he was strong. Whoever it was was just as strong as Squall would be. It was the same guy, the same face, the same voice the same memories, the same strength but it just wasn't Squall.

            He tried again to take her and he wanted to do it, no matter what. Against that strength, she didn't have a chance. She couldn't call for help, she wanted to know what was going on.

            "Let go," she hissed. "Let go I said!"

            His grip on her hips as he was trying to push himself in was so strong she wondered if she'd  be able to brake it.

            "Let me go!"

            _I'm with you, push him away, I'll help!_

She didn't realize the voice was in her head she just tought it was an inner voice from her subconscious.

            She could feel him pressing against her. Would she stop trying to push him away, he'd be able to get in and have his way. She wouldn't let him. No one had a right to touch her except for the one she loved. Even though this guy looked like him, he wasn't the Squall she loved.

            "I said let go and I mean it!"

            She managed to push him far enough to close her legs, bring them up and push him down the bed with her feet. Her eyes flashed red for a second and that brought a smile to 'Squall's face.

            He remained in front of the bed and Carole looked at him, not bothering she was naked. Whoever it was, he already had the time to see a lot of her so why bother hiding now?

            "Who are you? Where is Squall?"

            The fake Squall had a smile... and vanished.

            "I should have known... Veronique? You're responsible aren't you? Show yourself!"

            "How clever..."

            Veronique appeared where the fake Squall was standing earlier. She snapped her fingers, apparently deceived with something.

            "I was sure I had that illusion right! I used all your memories and those of the others to make that Squall... but I guess I was too caught up with the sex part, I'm quite a sex maniac myself!"

            "Where is he?" Carole asked almost hysterical as she stood on her knees and palms on the edge of the bed, not bothering dressing up again or even just hide herself a bit.

            Veronique shrugged.

            "How should I know?"

            "You brought us here, so tell me where he is! You lied, you said we were seperated in three!"

            "You were, none of you could tell that illusion from the real Squall, could you?"

            True, no one noticed. Except for that strange feeling she kept trying to ignore when she was with him.

            "Why...? Why did you do that?"

            "I did bring you all to Spira but Squall ended up... with me and he was great! I understand why you like him so much, he sure knows how to please a woman!"

            "You're lying!"

            "Was it that obvious? Oh, well..."

            "Please, I beg you, tell me where he is! Are you holding him prisonner somewhere? Please..."

            She was crying but Veronique didn't seemed moved at all. Maybe a little...

            "I don't know and I'm being honest. I took you all here, but he didn't come here like he was supposed to. I guess I felt sorry for you and that's why I created that illusion. But I guess it wasn't that good, huh?"

            Carole widened her eyes.

            "He's not here? Where? Where is he? You are a Sorceress for crying outloud, you must know where he is! Tell me please! I must find him!"

            Tears were rolling down her face non-stop. Veronique kind of felt something close to sadness seeing her like that.

            "It'll be up to you," she said.

            "Huh?" Carole asked not understanding.

            "You'll have to look deeper to find him..."

            These were the last words she said before she disappeared.

            "No wait!" Carole called extending her hand towards where Veronique was standing earlier. "What do you mean? Deeper where? Veronique!"

            She hugged herself and shut her eyes. Squall wasn't here, she's been tricked and nearly made love to an illusion of Squall. Her heart was squeezing and it felt like it wanted to come out from her throat. But what climbed up her throat wasn't her heart, it was a scream.

            "Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!"

            Doors banging on the wall were heard and running steps until someone wide opened the door to Carole's room.

            "Carole, what's wrong?" Rachel asked with great concern when the door banged on the wall.

            "Whoa!" Zell exclaimed noticing the girl kneeling on the bed was naked.

            "What's going on?" Adam asked arriving with Rinoa. "Who screamed?"

            Everyone gathered there but Rachel was trying to shield the door.

            "Get away you fools, this isn't a show okay? Rinoa, you come with me! Everyone else, get the fuck out and stop peeking at her!"

            Kerry tried to see with a worried face on but Rinoa came in with Rachel then she closed the door. The others all remained there, shocked and clueless.

            "What happened?" Audrey asked. "What's wrong?"

            "I don't know," Zell answered with a shrug and a little blush on his face. 'I heard a scream and I think it was Carole but... I saw her naked in the room..."

            "What about Squall?" Selphie asked. "You don't think... he wanted to take her by force?"

            "I don't think he would have needed that," Seifer said. "Did you see him?"

            "I only had the time to see Carole, I didn't see Squall."

            Kerry turned to the door as the others were going on with one theory after another. The only thing they could really do was wait for any of the girls to come out tell them what happened.

            In the room, Rachel hurried to her sister and wrapped a blanket around her before placing a worried arm on her shoulders.

            "What happened? Where's Squall?"

            "Squall... Squall..." Carole kept repeating.

            Rachel turned to Rinoa.

            "No good, she's in shock!"

            The Sorceress looked around, spotted Carole's clothes but no trace of Squall's.

            "Squall's gone," she stated. 

            "Where did he go?" Rachel asked her sister with a comforting tone.

            "Squall's gone... He's gone..."

            They would get nowhere with that. It seems Carole didn't even notice Rachel and Rinoa were there with her. Rinoa came to sit next to the shocked girl and rubbed her back, trying to calm her to bring her to tell what happened.

            "Snap out of it, Carole!" Rachel exclaimed. "You're not making any sense, what happened?"

            "And where is Squall?"

            "He's gone... it wasn't him... he's gone!"

            She took her face in her hands and started sobbing. Rachel and Rinoa looked at each other, clueless. It wasn't him? What could she mean by that?

            "Calm down please, we can't help if you don't tell us what happened... I guess you were busy, right?"

            "He..." the girl started.

            "Yes, go ahead."

            "He wanted me... He... it wasn't Squall! Veronique... an illusion..."

            That was a bit of information but Rachel was afraid she understood.

            "Squall was an illusion?" she asked surprised. "Set up by Veronique?"

            "No way!" Rinoa exclaimed. "When did that happen?"

            "All along!" Carole let out. "It was a fake... Illusion she created from our memories... Squall's gone!"

            She was slowly managing to tell the details but it was obvious she was still in shock.

            "Where is the real one then?" Rinoa asked.

            "She said she didn't know!" Carole said shaking her head as more tears rolled down her cheeks. "He's gone!"

            "No..." Rachel trailed off.

            She could understand the pain her sister must have been feeling. She searched for Squall for a while and when she found him, she found out he wasn't real. Then where could the real one be?

            She wrapped her arms around her sister and hugged her tight. Carole rested her head against her sister's shoulder and cried more, her eyes shut. Those were the tears of concern she tried not to shed on the way to finding Squall. Not knowing where he was now after she thought she found him released them all and even more from the thought that she's been tricked.

            Rinoa looked at Rachel, not sure what she should do. She was getting worried herself now. She thought that the others would probably be shocked as well.

            "You should go tell the others before they get nuts on the other side of the door, I'm sure they're all still there."

            "You sure?"

            "Yeah, I'll stay with her."

            "Alright."

            Rinoa got up from the bed and walked to the door. She opened it and wasn't surprise to see that everyone was on the other side. Some were showing curious faces and others like Kerry were showing concerned ones.

            "Is C-chan alright?" she asked.

            Rinoa looked at her a sorry way.

            "What happened, Rin?" Adam asked.

            Rinoa told them about what she know, that the Squall that was with her and Seifer was a fake, an illusion created by Veronique and that the real one was somewhere that even Veronique didn't know about. It seemed that after trying to take the girl, she realized he was a fake then he disappeared.

            "No way..." Quistis trailed off.

            "How could we be tricked like that?" Seifer asked. "He was with us a while and we didn't see anything!"

            "We were all tricked," Zell said.

            "How is Carole?" Dave asked.

            "It must be awful for her!" Selphie exclaimed placing her hands in front of her mouth.

            "C-chan..."

            "She's in shock," Rinoa told. "She'll probably be out of fighting for a while."

            "Then I guess we'll have to watch her," Quistis said. "She'd probably think she'd be a burden for us."

            "Yeah she would," Adam added.

            "But she won't be!" Zell said. "There's enough of us to watch her and fight as well!"

            "I'll protect her too!" Kerry stated seriously. "She always watched over me, it's time I repay her!"

            Then she looked at Rinoa a pleading way.  
            "Can I go in?"

            "I'm not sure it's a good idea," Irvine stated. "She must not be a pretty sight right now..."

            "I don't care! I want to go in! If she's in that much shock, she won't really care whether I'm there or not!"

            "I guess you're right. I don't think there is much I can do since I don't know her that well... Wait a minute..."

            Rinoa opened the door and just allowed her head in.

            "Rachel? Kerry would like to sleep in here, do you think she can?"

            "Yeah. I dressed her up a bit and she's already asleep. It really was too much..."

            The tone of her voice told the others Rachel cried as well. She felt so powerless seeing her sister like that and not being able to help her at all.

            Rinoa turned back to the others and gave a little forced smile to Kerry.

            "You can go in."

            Kerry hurried inside then Rinoa closed the door behind her.

            "There's nothing more for us to do right now I guess," Adam said.

            "Yeah," Rinoa answered. "Might as well go to sleep ourselves."

            "I still can't believe I didn't notice!" Seifer said quite mad. "I thought I knew him better than that!"

            "We were all tricked, man," Zell told. "If Veronique really used our memories to create that illusion then it's no wonder we were all fooled!"

            "Wouldn't it have been from the sex part, we might never have known he was a fake!" Audrey said.

            "What should we do about the others?" Irvine asked. "When they see Squall's not around anymore and Carole walk like a zombie, they'll wonder what happened!" 

            "We'll think about that later. I think we could tell them but..." Quistis trailed off.

            "We can't have them involve with us like that!" Seifer said. "It's none of their business!"

            "But they've been quite a help so far," Dave stated. "I think they should know."

            "I agree," Adam added.

            "Alright, we'll tell them tomorrow then," Selphie said.

            "For now, let's go to sleep," Rinoa finished.

            Everyone headed for their respective rooms with much concern disturbing them. They would all have trouble sleeping, wondering where their leader could be, if he was alright, if Carole would ever get over this, what Yuna and the others would think of this... And why was Veronique enjoying messing with them so much?

            Kerry laid next to Carole. The elder girl still traces of tears on her face and even though closed, her eyes were puffy. Kerry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she felt tears rushing to her eyes herself. She felt like Carole needed her now more than ever and she would not disappoint her. She would be there for her and do anything she could. Away from her home, Carole was more than kind to her into teaching her the way of fighting, protecting her, taking her mind off things to keep her from being scared. Now it was her turn to watch her and make sure she'd be fine. She wanted to believe that they would find Squall and she promised herself that when they would, Carole would be whole, unharmed.

            "I promise..." she whispered.

            _You'll find me, I promise you will... I believe in you... I love you..._

            Veronique looked at her hands and frowned with curiosity.

            "What came over me? Why did I feel like telling her? I even... hope she will find him, but... it's really up to her, even if I wanted to help, I wouldn't be able to do anything! It's in her heart and only her can free it..."

            She turned away.

            "I must be getting soft..."

_A/N: So? How was it? I've been longing for this chapter to be done and now I'll be longing for the others to be done! The story's getting thicker by the minute! I think..._

_What did you think of the sex part? Was it too much? It really had to happen so I thought What the hell, let's add some details while I'm at it! I would really appreciate comments, it's the first time I'm writing such a scene! Look forward the next chapter!_


	13. Chapter 12: The Moonflow and the Flow of...

Chapter 12 : The Moonflow and the Flow of Feelings  
  
The night didn't give easy rest for anyone except for Yuna's Guardians maybe. She spent the night in the temple, trying her best to help people hurt during Operation Mi'ihen and who came to hide in the temple for a while, looking for help. Only late in the night she allowed herself some sleep. Rather she fell asleep from exhaustion.  
In most rooms, people were sleeping in groups of two or by themselves except in one room where three girls slept together. But in the beginning, a girl and her boyfriend were supposed to share this room. The illusion was gone and Carole shut herself from reality, causing much concern for her sister and her friends.  
Rachel opened an eye after thinking she hasn't slept enough and looked next to her for her sister, wondering how she was this morning. Her eyes widened when she found her missing. Next to where Carole was supposed to be, Kerry was slowly coming back from slumberland. She noticed Rachel's panic and didn't have to ask why when she saw herself someone was missing.  
"Where's C-chan?" she asked pretty worried.  
Rachel feared for a moment that her sister might have left but in her state, she would only meet certain death in this place.  
She stood up and felt high relief when her eyes recognized the form of her sister standing in front of the couch.  
"Oh, Hyne, Carole don't ever scare me like that!" Rachel said and went to her.  
Kerry followed, eager to see if her friend was alright.  
"C-chan?" she called.  
But the elder girl remained silent.  
"Carole?" Rachel called as well.  
"..."  
The younger SeeD bent to look at her sister's face and nearly jumped backwards. Carole was holding Squall's necklace but what gave her fear was the way she looked. She seemed to be looking at the necklace but her eyes were blank, completely. She almost seemed dead, a walking dead.  
"Oh fuck..." Rachel trailed off.  
"C-chan? What's wrong? Say something!"  
"It's no use, Kerry," Rachel said with a ball getting stuck in her throat. "She can't hear you now. She's... far away from us, in her own little world."  
Not sure what to do or say, Kerry took Carole's free hand and clenched it. No reaction.  
The door was knocked, startling Rachel who went to open it.  
"Huh... yes!"  
It was Zell behind the door but the others were all behind him.  
"How is she?" Adam inquired.  
"Even... worst than yesterday... She won't hear us. She... she shut herself up!"  
"I was afraid it might happen," Quistis stated. "When reality is too hard to accept, a human being tends to shut himself off reality."  
"Bullshit!" Rachel exclaimed. "She didn't shut herself up when Squall died at the Great Battle! She didn't shut herself up when she got blind!"  
"That probably was because she was with Squall when she was sick," the blond girl answered. "As for when he died, he was still with her, she could still hope for a miracle..."  
"But now he really is gone..." Dave said.  
"Nonsense!" Seifer interfered. "I don't believe you all! I thought you had an undying faith in Squall! Do you really think he's dead? We all survived that thing, it was only a way to get us all here! Veronique had lots of fun messing with us, scattering us across Spira but... Even though he'd be on the other side of the world, do you think that would stop him? He'd look for her and find her no matter what! If she couldn't keep faith in him, we have to do so to help her!"  
"Never thought I'd say that, but Seifer's right," Zell agreed. "We'll see him again, and until then..."  
"We'll have to watch over her," Rinoa finished.  
Rachel nodded.  
"In her actual state, she won't dress up by herself can someone give me a hand?"  
Selphie volunteered and Rinoa as well. The others decided to go wait outside, still wondering what they'd say if Yuna and the others would ask them about Carole's state and Squall missing.  
It didn't take that long before the girls came out of the Inn with Carole being pulled by Kerry like a zombie. The others could now see what Rachel meant. She was scary in that state.  
Kerry was looking very serious even though she was on the verge of tears. She had to stay strong for her friend.  
Not long after they were all outside, Tidus, Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri and Auron came out of the Inn.  
"Where's Yuna?" Selphie asked.  
"Probably still in the temple," Lulu answered.  
"You mean she was there the whole night?" Irvine exclaimed.  
"I'll go get her," Tidus offered after taking a look at Carole.  
He thought to himself that he would ask later why she was like that.  
He hurried to the temple and took a quick look around. No sign of Yuna anywhere. After they got Ixion, the temple Aeon, she insisted into staying to help the wounded people. So she sure wasn't in the Cloister. He headed into one of the rooms aside the stairs from the Cloister and heard a faint moan coming from the bed. There she was, resting. He went towards her silently not to startle her but she woke up once he was next to her.  
"Huh... Good morning!" he said in a happy tone.  
"What? It's already morning?"  
She got up really quickly and started running around the room to gather her things.  
"I'm sorry, I'll be ready in a minute!"  
Tidus couldn't help but smile at the sight. She was so worried to make everyone wait for her that she didn't even care about looking a bit dumb.  
"Hey, it's alright, take it easy!"  
"But everyone will be angry if I'm too late!"  
"Come on now, I don't think they'll be mad if you oversleep now and then, take it easy!"  
Yuna ignored him and kept running around like crazy to get ready to leave. Tidus' mind started wandering elsewhere, back where he came from, his other friends and that weird look on Carole's face. What happened to her? He wanted to know, he would ask when he'd meet them again.  
Once Yuna finished gathering her belongings, she hurried after Tidus to exit the temple. Everyone was waiting next to the travel agency.  
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she apologized with force bowing.  
"You should have taken a little more time to fix your hair," Lulu said.  
"Oh!" Yuna exclaimed reaching for her head.  
"A summoner with bad hair..." Wakka trailed off. "What's the world coming to?"  
"Why are you all teasing me?"  
"Once Lady Yuna fixes her hair, we'll leave," Auron added with a smile.  
"You too, Sir Auron?"  
Yuna's guardians couldn't help but laugh at the situation and even some of the SeeDs but one wasn't laughing for she didn't even heard the joke. While Yuna was laughing along with her guardians, Tidus decided to get informed of whatever happened to the SeeD girl he befriended with not that long ago.  
"Uh oh," Rachel said. "Here we go..."  
Tidus walked through them all until he got in front of Carole. He looked at her expressionless face and had to admit she was pretty scary. He made a slight move backward then looked at Rachel.  
"Hey, what's wrong with her?"  
"Hum... she's not feeling well."  
"Yeah, that's pretty obvious... And where's Squall? Still asleep?"  
Zell and Rachel looked at each other. They knew this was gonna happen. Kerry looked at Carole with concern but promised herself not to cry or show too much sorrow. SeeDs must think of their duty first and even though she wasn't even a candidate yet, she wanted to carry out the goal she gave herself.  
"You see... It's complicated," Rachel started.  
The others got curious and closened in.  
"Hey, where did your other friend go?" Wakka asked.  
"And what happened to her?" Auron inquired.  
Rachel grabbed her forehead then turned to Quistis.  
"What do we do now?"  
Quistis decided to take charge since none of their usual leader was there or in state to lead anything.  
"It's nothing of your concern, really," she said. "It's nothing."  
"Don't give me that!" Tidus complained. "One of you is missing and Carole looks like a zombie so don't tell me nothing happened!"  
"Like she said, it's our concern. We don't want to get you involved in our troubles anymore than you already are," Dave insisted.  
"I must say that this looks pretty serious," Auron cut in. "We can't ignore that one of your friends is missing and that your leader seems more dead than alive."  
"Can I do something?" Yuna offered.  
"You can't do anything," Rinoa assured. "She... must think for herself for a while. Once she sorts things out, she'll be back to normal."  
Everyone turned to her. She tried a little mind-scan on the girl earlier. She couldn't quite figure out what she was thinking about so strongly but she knew the girl needed some time, that she was so into her thoughts that she needed to shut herself off to be alone and think clearly. She was wondering why she couldn't get what she was thinking about. She was probably so caught up in her thoughts that no one could disturb her until she sorted everything out herself.  
"Are you gonna tell us what happened or what?" Tidus insisted.  
Quistis took a deep breath and started. She spoke about the one they met in Luca, keeping her name a secret, being the one who got them all here, for fun, it seems. She said that the Squall they found during Operation Mi'ihen with Seifer and Rinoa was a fake, an illusion created by that sorceress from their minds and memories to make him almost a perfect Squall. During the last night, the illusion made a fatal mistake in trying to force Carole into sex while the real one would never even have thought to do this. Then they learned even the sorceress didn't know where the real Squall was. Shocked from discovering her lover was a fake, Carole shut herself off from everyone else and was now as helpless as a newborn baby.  
"That's why she looks like that," Tidus understood looking at Carole with sadness.  
"What are you gonna do?" Wakka asked.  
"We'll follow you if you don't mind," Seifer said. "We have faith that wherever he is, Squall is alright and will do everything in his power to find her again!"  
"That's really serious, why didn't you say anything earlier?" Auron asked.  
Tidus turned to him and frowned.  
"Because you didn't want us to get involved with them, old man! You were so afraid that they might slow down Yuna's pilgrimage that you didn't even stop to think that there might have been something else at stake here!"  
"There's that witch, that Sorceress after you," Lulu started. "Do you think... she might come after us?"  
"I don't know, but I don't think so," Rinoa said. "If she wanted to hurt anyone, she would have done it a long time ago! She proved herself to be quite powerful in Luca, but she just wanted to tell us she was the one responsible."  
"We'll just have to watch Carole's back. There's enough of us for that, so you guys watch Yuna like you're supposed to," Rachel stated. "When she comes, it will be to cause us more trouble. You just happen to be around, but it's us she wants, that's why she took us from our place to get us here."  
"Kimahri watch Yuna," the big blue guy suddenly started. "Kimahri can watch Yuna alone and other in the same time. If you need help, call Kimahri."  
"Yeah, count on me too!" Tidus insisted pumping his fist.  
Everyone smiled, glad to see that they didn't have to be alone in this troubled time, that even though they were so far from their world, they could still count on complete strangers if need be. Mostly SeeDs, they were used to work alone but since the situation was different, there was no such things as duty in this world, there was no SeeDs, no Gardens so no rules they had to follow either. They could rely on each other. All of them promised themselves that they would also help protect Yuna if there was a need for more help.  
"Where are we heading now?" Zell asked.  
"We go back from here until we reach that crossroad, remember?" Wakka explained. "Then we take the other way to the Moonflow."  
"That sounds romantic!" Selphie exclaimed.  
"It looks as well," Lulu said with a light smile from Selphie's behavior.  
"Let's go, then!" Tidus exclaimed raising his fist.  
"Yeah!" Zell exclaimed as well mimicing Tidus.  
The group started moving again back the way they came. Wakka and Lulu were walking on the front with Yuna close, Kimahri and Auron following. Then there were Rachel and Zell in front of Kerry holding Carole's hand to guide her. Tidus was not too far and the others were making the rear guard.  
On the bridge, they were past by a Chocobo knight, in fact, the captain of the knights, Lucil followed with a girl in red then a guy in blue named Clasko, trying to keep up with his captain riding a chocobo while he had to run.  
Back to the crossroad, they went the other way indicated by a post sign pointing the moonflow. They walked their way on the road, battling a few monsters on the way. Rachel, Zell and the others were usually fighting and asking Kerry to stay with their leader to protect her, never to leave her alone.  
Something caused the front guard to stop moving.  
"Hey, what's going on?" Tidus asked making his way to the front.  
Kimahri was facing his fellow Ronsos he met in Luca, Yenke and Biran.  
"I'll give you a hand!" Tidus offered frowning at the two.  
Kimahri extended his arm to tell him to stay out of this.  
"You want to fight Kimahri?" the blue Ronso asked, ready.  
"If Kimahri wants to fight, we can give him one!"  
"We just warn Kimahri. Summoners have been disapearing recently."  
"What a shame if Kimahri's summoner is kidnapped!"  
"Kidnapped?" Tidus exclaimed with surprise. "Who would kidnap summoners?"  
"We just wanted to warn Guardian Kimahri. If little Kimahri loses his summoner, who will Kimahri guard then?"  
Not adding anything else, the two Ronsos walked away, not looking back either.  
"That sounds like trouble, ya?"  
"What's happening?" Rinoa came asking.  
"It would seem that someone is kidnapping summoners."  
Everyone turned to Yuna who lowered her head.  
"I'm sorry to cause trouble..."  
"Whoa!" Irvine interfered. "You haven't even done anything yet!"  
"We just have to watch out and be very careful," Auron advised. "if we keep our eyes opened, we should be able to avoid trouble."  
"Alright!" Selphie said. "We'll do our best to help you!"  
"Thank you," Yuna said bowing.  
Zell scratched the back of his head, embarassed.  
"Why do you always have to bow like that?"  
"Because she's more polite than you are!" Rachel answered elbowing him in the ribs.  
"Ow!"  
"Are we gonna spend the night here or what?" Seifer cut in.  
"Why are you so mad?" Audrey asked, curious.  
"Well.... I might not look like it, but I'm worried...."  
"About what?" Rinoa asked.  
"Well, about Squall first and about her as well," he said showing Carole with his chin.  
The girl hasn't moved once, not even when they were attacked by monsters or when the two Ronsos showed up. Kerry was still holding her hand. She would not give up on her.  
"Let's go," Wakka commanded. "We still have the moonflow to cross."  
"We're gonna have to cross it?" Tidus asked as they started walking again.  
Kerry took Carole's hand to make her walk. Despite her state, she was obedient. She was like a zombie, but some of the others thought she looked a bit like when she was blind and deaf... except that she was still moving and that she was keeping her eyes closed.  
A swift move in the bushes next to the gang caught Kerry's attention so she looked through them. She tried to focus on the spot where she thought she saw something and saw something move again. A shadow of some creature. She thought she saw two small blue lights shining but then the creature jumped deeper in the bushes and disapeared. Kerry blinked a few times and robbed her eyes, wondering if she really saw that or if it was just her imagination. Seeing things wasn't appropriate at the time and for nobody, especially not for a SeeD. No one else seemed to notice so she placed the blame on her concern for her older friend. She pretended nothing happened and just kept leading Carole forward.  
The group made it in front of a lake of some sorts.  
"Wow!" Tidus exclaimed in admiration.  
Curious, everyone hurried to the front to see what could have caused this reaction.  
Over the surface of the water, some small blue and green lights were flying about. Some aquatic flowers blooming on the surface gave it and enchanting look. The SeeDs never saw anything like this in their world.  
"It's... beautiful!" Quistis stated.  
"What are those lights?" Audrey asked.  
"Pyreflies," Wakka explained. "When the sun sets, they shine under the light of the moon."  
"That's why it's called the Moonflow, I guess," Dave supposed, also moved by the beauty of the scene.  
"Hey! I got an idea!" Tidus exclaimed raising an arm.  
"We're not waiting until nightfall," Auron cut him.  
Tidus froze. How did he know?  
"Uh, well.... Then once we defeat Sin, let's come back!"  
He waited to see if anyone would give objection but no one did. Satisfied, he nodded.  
They started moving again but Kerry remained there with Carole, still holding her hand.  
"Do you see that, C-chan? Can you see it? You have to see it now or you might never get another chance since we don't know when we'll get back!"  
Seeing they were not following, Adam came back to them.  
"Come on, Kerry, we have to keep going."  
Kerry lowered her head, sad.  
"I wanted to make sure she saw it. It's so pretty she has to see it!"  
"I understand but she's busy now. We must keep going, that's what she wants us to do now I'm sure."  
"Well, you know her better than me, so I'll do as you say..."  
"Good. But as Tidus said, we can come back to show her. Squall will want to see this as well, I'm sure."  
"Yes! You're right!"  
As they went after the others, Kerry felt her hand being squeezed a bit so she looked up to Carole's face with hope.  
"C-chan?" she called.  
But Carole's face was still the same as it was earlier. Maybe she just imagined it.  
They finally made it to where they could cross. The SeeDs were expecting a bridge or maybe a ship of some sort but instead...  
"Wow, what's that, it's huge!" Tidus exclaimed nearly falling over.  
A creature that almost looked like an elephant past by. The others also had the same reflex than he had, a move backward.  
"It's a shoopuf," Yuna told. "They will make us travel the Moonflow."  
"You're kidding, right?" Seifer asked. "It may be big, it's not big enough to carry us all!"  
"There are more than just one, ya know!" Wakka said with a smile.  
"We"ll just have to split up while we go through," Lulu added.  
Wakka walked first so everyone followed. They came on an argument between the chocobo knights and a short alien looking blue guy speeking a weird way.  
"But we must get to the other side!" Lucil instisted.  
"Imposhibible! Imposhibible!" the blue guy insisted.  
"What's wrong?" Tidus asked.  
"We wanted to cross the Moonflow but this guy won't let our chocobo on the shoopuf!"  
"Well, it is a big bird," Irvine commented.  
"I guess we'll have to walk our way around to the other side," Lucil decided before hurrying the chocobo back on the road.  
Clasko traced Lucil a desperate way then followed like he didn't have a choice.  
Wakka went to the shoopuf guy.  
"We'd like to cross," he said. "But there's a lot of us so do you think you could spare more than one shoopuf?"  
"Only two to shpare. You'll have to shqueeje yourshelf on board."  
Wakka turned to the others.  
"Alright! There's 18 of us, so we're gonna have ta split in two groups of 9."  
"You can go first," Rachel stated looking around.  
The others nodded.  
"Then that makes me, Tidus, Yuna, Lulu and Kimahri plus Sir Auron. That's only six so we can take three more of you along or you won't have enough space on your ride."  
"I don't mind going along," Dave said.  
"Then I'm coming too," Quistis eagerly added.  
"Then who else will go?" Zell asked.  
They all looked at each other. Mostly scared about getting separated again, the couples wanted to stick together and avoid taking any risks.  
"I'm staying with C-chan!" Kerry insisted.  
"I'm with you too," Rachel said.  
"I'll stick with you," Zell added.  
"Oh, booyaka! I'll go with them and that's it, we're not gonna stay here the whole night talking about it!" Selphie exclaimed.  
"Are you sure about this, Sefie?" Irvine asked a bit concerned.  
"I'm a big girl, Irvy! I'm gonna be apprentice Guardian for a while, you just stay with the others and watch Carole. We wouldn't want her to fall overboard after all we've been through now, would we?"  
"Squall'd kill us!" he replied.  
"Good, then it's settled," Wakka said. "Dave, Quistis and Selphie with us on the first ride. Another shoopuf will get the others soon after."  
"All aboard!" the shoopuf guy called.  
The first bunch got on some kind of elevator that took them up to the shoopuf's back where there was a carriage installed for everyone to sit on comfortably.  
"Be careful, Irvy!" Selphie exclaimed.  
"You too!"  
"See ya on the other side, Dave!" Rinoa waved.  
"Soon, I hope!"  
The rider got in his place.  
"Shoopuf full shpeed ahead!"  
The shoopuf started moving slowly towards the other side of the Moonflow. That thing could swim, that was a sure thing. Despite it's size, soon, it was out of sight. The only thing left to do was to wait for the next shoopuf.  
"Weird," Zell said. "Only three of us are missing, but I feel like more are gone..."  
"Probably because we got attached to our new friends," Rinoa supposed. "I think I'll miss them when we get home."  
"If we stay here for too long, it's gonna be even harder to leave," Seifer stated.  
Kerry took Carole to a nearby bench and made her sit down. She wouldn't have done it herself in her state. Rachel joined her and Adam as well.  
"How is she?" Rachel inquired.  
Kerry turned to her and shook her head. She was worried but determined not to cry, she wanted to be strong, she had to for her friend's sake.  
"Nothing new. She doesn't give a sign."  
She lowered her head. Rachel placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt for comfort. Adam closened in on Carole and looked at her face. Her empty eyes, her expressionless face, her motionless body... Wouldn't it have been for her chest moving with each breath, he would have thought she was dead.  
"We must find him," Rachel whispered. "We have to find Squall for her!"  
"But Veronique said even she can't find him."  
"What does a Sorceress know anyway?" she asked in an angry tone.  
"Hum... Rach..."  
"Sorry," she apologized quickly wiping tears from her eyes. "I didn't mean anything bad about Rinoa it's just..."  
"I know... you're upset, we all are but there's no point in getting angry about it. Remember what happened in Luca when we started arguing?"  
She nodded. Yes, she remembered. Carole got mad because no one was listening to her. But then they joined the others and travelled together since.  
"There's no use getting mad at something I can't help. I just wish to get my hands on that... that..."  
"Hey, the shoopuf's here!" Zell called.  
Adam would never know what Rachel was thinking about the twisted Sorceress but he had the feeling it was nearly the same thing he was thinking himself.  
"Let's go, then!" Rachel said turning around to go join the others.  
Kerry helped Carole back on her feet then went with Adam after Rachel to join the others as well.  
They were taken on the shoopuf's back. There was some room but they still had to squeeze themselves a bit to be sure everyone could have space. Kerry sat right behind the rider with Carole and Rachel, Audrey and Seifer on a side, Rinoa and Adam on the other, and Irvine and Zell on the back.  
"Ready?" the rider asked.  
"We're all set!"  
"Shoopuf, full shpeed ahead!"  
The ride was calming, comfortable. Carole was placed between Kerry and Rachel to avoid her falling overboard. The clear sound of the waves and some shy birds was pretty soothing. Never letting go of Carole's hand, Kerry closed her eyes to fill herself with the gentleness of the air.  
"This is nice," Audrey commented.  
"Not even half as fast as the vessels back home, but better view," Rinoa said.  
"Less dangerous as well," Seifer stated. "Imagine a crash on one of the vessels back home and the door is stuck... I don't think this creature could crash even on purpose."  
"Do you always have to be so negative?" Rachel asked with a frown.  
"Who's negative? Back in that agency, I was the only who had faith in Squall, you all thought he was gone, and I'm negative?"  
"Don't start!" Kerry interfered. "Why do you always have to pick on each other? If C-chan would have been herself, she would be ashamed of you!"  
"You're right, Kerry," Adam said.  
"Yeah, sorry," Seifer said.  
The ride went on until the air suddenly changed and the shoopuf stopped.  
"Hey, what's the big idea?" Zell asked.  
"Why are we stopping?" Irvine asked.  
"The shoopuf won't move another inch!" the rider answered.  
"It's an animal," Kerry said. "It must have felt something."  
"That would explain why the air changed," Rinoa said with a frown getting her blaster edge ready. "I feel something too, be careful."  
Rachel got up and advised Kerry to stay where she was.  
"You should stay sit or you might fall," Seifer told.  
"What is it, Rin?" Adam asked ignoring Seifer.  
Rinoa closed her eyes and tried to focus. Then she frowned.  
"I think you all know what it is..."  
"Oh no, not now!" Audrey exclaimed.  
"We know you're here, Veronique, why don't you just show yourself?" Rinoa said looking around.  
"Oh, shoot! I guess I underestimated you, Rinoa."  
The tight black leather dressed Sorceress appeared floating right behind the shoopuf, causing Zell and Irvine to step away from their seat on the back.  
"What ish going on?" the rider asked trying to look.  
"Stay there," Rachel commanded. "We'll take care of this."  
"Yeah, right, like you could take care of me before," Veronique said. "Can't even take care of yourselves!"  
Rachel pushed the others aside and rushed to the back of the shoopuf.  
"Hey watch it, Rach!" Adam warned.  
"Come in my axe's range, and I'll show you! What did you do to my sister?"  
"Your sister?" Veronique asked arching an eyebrow.  
"Carole! What did you do to her?"  
The Sorceress didn't seem to understand her point so Rachel signalled for the others to move aside so Veronique would be able to see Carole in the middle of the front seat, Kerry standing close with her knives out.  
Veronique frowned with curiosity and wanted to go closer until she suddenly remembered she was an enemy in their point of view.  
"I'm not responsible for this," she simply said.  
"My ass!" Rachel exclaimed. "It's because of your fake Squall she's like this! Now she thinks the real one is lost!"  
"Well, it's not my fault if she can't figure out where he is..." she said turning away.  
"You don't even know yourself!" Rinoa accused.  
"What about you? You can't find him either, can you?"  
"Well... we're not linked anymore since he's no longer my knight."  
"What did you say to her? Did you give her a clue?" Adam asked.  
"Why are you asking me?"  
"Because you're the only one who knows anything!" Rachel yelled. "Whatever you told her, she can't figure it out in her state, so..."  
"We'd like to know what you told her so we can find him for her," Kerry finished.  
Veronique placed a hand on her hip and looked at them a while. Such a strong bond of friendship between these people. She almost felt jealous for a while. Just a little...  
"You wouldn't be able to find him anyway, only her can do it, that's why I gave the clue only to her."  
"Why did you come here then?" Zell asked getting mad. "To piss us off even more than we already are?"  
"I didn't expect her to be in such a state, I expected her to be stronger than that, I'm disappointed! She couldn't even figure out my clue. Oh well... True she misses an important part but the main one is so close..."  
"What are you talking about?" Seifer asked. "Can't you talk straight?"  
"Sorry, I told her she'll have to figure it out herself. She must be busy doing this even as we speak. Once she does, she'll wake up... or when she realizes she can't figure it out..."  
She started floating backwards.  
"Hey, where are you going?" Rachel asked.  
"You're boring as you are, so I'm leaving. I'll be back when things get more interresting, when she's back to normal. And..."  
She looked at Adam and winked.  
"I'll see more of you soon, arrow-boy."  
She kissed her hand and blew it towards Adam, then she vanished accompanied with a clear laugh.  
Everyone quickly looked around to make sure everyone was fine and nothing was missing. And unfortunately, Carole was still the same.  
"What the hell was that?"  
"How long is she planning on toying with us?" Rachel asked punching her plam with her fist.  
"No, she tried to help this time," Rinoa said.  
Everyone turned to her with wide eyes.  
"Say what?"  
"Would you say that again?" Seifer asked.  
"You're kidding right?" Rachel stated.  
"No, there was no evil around her this time. She hadn't come to cause trouble."  
"Well she didn't help one bit either!" Rachel exclaimed sitting back next to her sister. "We didn't get a clue as to where or how find Squall and Carole is still in the same state!"  
"Didn't you listen?" Rinoa said a bit annoyed. "She said only Carole could find him and I think she could be right..."  
"Like the Great Battle?" Adam asked.  
"Exactly. I healed Squall's body, but Carole had to call his soul back. Only she could do it since they were linked through their love. Just now, Veronique said we're missing something but the main part was close..."  
"What the hell does that mean?"  
"Unfortunately, I don't know..."  
"Ish it alright?" the rider asked.  
"Yeah, you can go on!" Rachel told him.  
The shoopuf started moving again.  
Could Veronique really not be as bad as she looked? As she wanted them to believe? Why would she try to help? For fun again?  
Squall, can you hear me? Where are you?  
I can hear you... I'm here... I believe in you, everything is gonna be alright...  
The ride finally came to a stop on the other side of the Moonflow. The others were all standing there, waiting but they didn't look like they have been waiting for long.  
"What happened?" Dave inquired. "I was sure you would have caught up with us!"  
"We had some... trouble on the way," Rachel answered.  
"You too?" Tidus exclaimed with surprise.  
"What do you mean us too?" Zell asked.  
The Guardians explained that Yuna was taken on the ride but Wakka, Tidus and Dave interfered in an underwater battle to save her.  
"Don't tell me someone tried to take one of you as well?" Tidus asked.  
"No, it was... the Sorceress," Rinoa told avoiding to mention the name.  
They all remembered Wakka's strange reaction when they did not mention the name. They never knew why he reacted like that but they were not gonna bring it back and ask him.  
"Can we keep going?" Auron asked.  
"Yeah, let's go!" Tidus said going first.  
He caught up with the road pretty quickly and the others followed. Kerry pulled on Carole's hand but the girl didn't move.  
"Come on, C-chan, we have to keep going."  
She looked up to Carole's face and her eyes widened in surprise but also in relief. Carole was looking at her, focusing on her face and she had a guilty smile.  
"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," she said.  
"C-chan!" Kerry exclaimed hugging her friend tightly.  
Alerted with her scream, the others all came looking for what happened and found relief as well.  
"Carole!" Rachel exclaimed.  
The SeeD looked at everyone.  
"I'm sorry I worried you. I'm alright now. I can't do anything good if I'm a burden to you. I can't look for Squall if I don't see where I'm going."  
Then she turned to Kerry and gave her a wide comforting smile.  
"Thanks for watching over me K-chan. Now, if you'll let me, I'll watch over you like I promised."  
"I was glad to be of some use! I'd do it again if I had to!"  
"I'll try and make sure it doesn't happen again."  
Rinoa walked to the girl, feeling something different coming from her.  
"So, you figured anything out?" she asked.  
"You guessed I was thinking about something, didn't you... I realized I couldn't figure it out, so no use thinking about it for years, huh? I'll just have to think about it on the way."  
"Why don't you tell me what she told you?"  
"Because it is my business. I have to find him alone, I'm the only one who can."  
She clenched her necklace for comfort. She could almost feel Squall's presence, where could he be? Close? Far?  
"Hey, guys, something's happening over there!" Zell called pointing the direction the others went to.  
After making sure Carole was really back to normal, the others went after Yuna and her Guardians. There seemed to be one more person when they joined the small group next to the water. A young blonde girl with her hair piled up on the back of her head just like Quistis. Dave couldn't help but notice, so did his girlfriend.  
"I guess this place isn't that different from home since people look the same," Quistis said.  
"Her name's Rikku," Tidus intrduced. "She saved my life when I arrived on Spira, she's an Al Be... Ahh, uh... hum..."  
Tidus tried to find a way to correct this mistake looking at Wakka but it seemed the blitzer didn't notice.  
"So you owe her your life. Nice ta meet ya."  
"Hum, Wakka?" Lulu called.  
The girls went aside from a private talk, leaving the others out of this. When they came back, Yuna asked Auron to make Rikku a Guardian. Auron demanded to look at her face, then at her eyes and he identified her as an Al Behd from the twisted shape of her eyes.  
"As I suspected," Auron said.  
"Hum, no good?" Rikku asked putting her hands behind her back a shy way.  
While they were talking, Carole found herself looking around like there was something there.  
"What's wrong?" Kerry asked after noticing.  
"There's something here..."  
She felt like she was being watched but not the same way than when Veronique was spying on them. She felt protected somehow, warm. She clenched her chest, wondering why her heart was pounding like this and why she was feeling so hot.  
She walked down the road while the others were busy talking with their new friend who would tag along. Tidus noticed the girl back to her senses and called out to her.  
"Hey, Carole!" he called running after her.  
She turned around, cut off from her thoughts.  
"Hey, Tidus."  
"Well, I'm sure glad to see you're alright!" he said catching up. "Found anything?"  
"Unfortunately, no," she said with disapointment holding her necklace. "But I feel like we're getting close to something... I feel something close... I think..."  
"What do you mean, you think?"  
"I never felt like this before so I don't really know what it is, just..."  
She looked straight in the woods and noticed a pair of blue eyes looking back at her. It was that creature again. How come it was there, she didn't have a clue, but it definately was the same creature. In plain day like this, she could finally see it clearly. Grey fur with a white thick collar. Suddenly, it jumped out of the trees onto the road, looking at her. It was the size of a lion and even looked like a lion but she never saw anything like this thing. Usually, monsters stick to their place, but this one was following them!  
It turned it's head away and started running. When it turned it's head, something reflected the sun's ray through it's fur and from the feeling she got, Carole thought she knew what it was.  
"H... hey! Come back!" she called running after it.  
"Wh... what? Carole!" Tidus exclaimed.  
She ran through the woods, on the road after that creature. She didn't know why but she had the feeling that thing she saw was her necklace. If it was the case, why would this thing have her necklace? She gave it to Squall, could it have anything to do with him? Then why was it running?  
"Come back, please!"  
When she realized she lost it, she tripped and lost her balance, falling flat on the ground. She got back on her knees and looked around. It was gone.  
"Why are you watching me? Were you sent by Veronique? Come back here!"  
"Carole!" someone called from behind.  
She didn't realize she went so far after this thing.  
"Watch out!" someone warned.  
She turned around to see who screamed but then she felt something soft, warm and pretty heavy jump on her and make her lay down on her back. Then she heard something whistle. An arrow went over her head and striked a fiend that was sneaking up behind her for a surprise attack.  
She stood on her elbows and looked up. It was that creature. It didn't mean to harm her, it was protecting her from the fiend.  
"Carole!" Rachel exclaimed with fear once the gang caught up.  
"Shoot it down, Adam!" Tidus said.  
"I can't!" he said holding his bow with an arrow ready. "If it moves, I hit her!!"  
"Wait!" Rinoa said. "It's not attacking her..."  
"I never saw a fiend act like this, ya?" Wakka stated pretty amazed.  
Carole looked straight into the eyes of the creature. Those blue eyes gave her a strange feeling. It was like they were piercing her to the bottom of her soul, like they knew her.  
"You protected me, didn't you?"  
She raised a hand to the furry collar.  
"Don't be stupid!" Quistis advised.  
"It's alright... it's not a fiend..."  
"Then what is it?" Audrey asked.  
Since she didn't know the answer, Carole didn't say anything more. She reached for the fur, moved some aside to allow her to see clearly what she only caught a glimpse of earlier. There it was, the silver eagle tied around that creature's neck. Her silver eagle she left with Squall when he left the Griever with her. She felt a strange ball climb up her throat and tears build up in the corner of her eyes.  
"Could it be... true?" she whispered. "Could it be possible?"  
She looked up again at the creature's face. There was no harm in that look, rather warmth. She stared at the eyes staring back at hers. Something flashed in her mind. Instead of a furry beasty face, she saw Squall's in her mind. The eyes were the same, just the face changed.  
"Squall?" she trailed off.  
"What did she say?" Irvine asked.  
"You've got to be kidding!" Dave exclaimed.  
While everyone was wondering how to react or what to say, a fiend took advantage of the unsure situation to sneak up behind Carole. In her state, she couldn't move with that creature on top of her.  
"Hey, look out!" Rikku called pointing behind them.  
Helpless, Carole shut her eyes and reached for the creature's neck, wrapping her arms around it when the fiend attacked. A bright light suddenly wrapped around Carole and the creature, given off by the two. The light cut the fiend in its trail and even caused it to vanish. The others all shielded their eyes with their arms.  
"What's going on?" Zell asked.  
"C-chan!" Kerry inquired unable to see a thing.  
"I can't see!" Tidus said.  
"Whoa!"  
The light faded slowly so everyone risked an eye out on what happened. They could see two figures in front of them. Carole still on her back and another one on top of her, about the same size, but not the same shape it had earlier. When the road was clear again, they could see a man.  
"By Hyne!" Rinoa exclaimed.  
"No way!" Wakka exclaimed.  
"I don't believe this!" Seifer let out.  
Everyone had their own opinion about this miracle. The creature was gone and in it's place was Squall, on his knees, plams on the ground with Carole's arms wrapped around his neck. And she didn't look like she was about to let go.  
"I knew you could do it," Squall whispered placing an arm around her.  
"I knew it was you... I could feel it... Tell me this is true..."  
It was, there was no uneasyness and the strange feeling inside her was gone, so was the little voice, Squall's voice that kept following her around.  
He stood up on his knees and she followed. Then they got up, her arms still around his neck. She was crying.  
"You're here... It's really you!"  
He shut his eyes and held her back, feeling her relief, feeling her joy. He felt tears of relief coming up as well.  
"I told you I would look for my necklace," he joked.  
"Hey, Squall!" Zell called.  
Everyone else joined in with force exclamations of joy and relief but with force questions as well.  
"What happened, man?"  
"How come you looked like a fiend?"  
"Do you know how worried we were?"  
"What took you so long?"  
"How come you changed back?"  
All these questions resonnated in echos around the couple. Most were questions they wanted answers for themselves but for now, they were just together. And that was all that mattered.  
So that's what she meant, Carole thought. I had to look deeper inside myself, that's where he was... how did he ended up there anyway?  
  
Meanwhile, in another place, far and close to everything in the same time, a black dressed woman was watching the scene.  
"She did it! She could take him out of her heart and give him back his form! I didn't realize in his lion shape that he still had memories, I thought it remained with her when she took his heart. Who would have thought she could do this when I brought them here!"  
She knew the truth all along of course. She saw it when the couple held each other when they were enwrapped in her magical cloth. Squall's heart left his body, turning it into what was hidded in his soul: a lion. Then his heart was taken inside Carole's. But deep in his soul, he still remembered her, that's why the lion protected her, that's why it followed her.  
Veronique shook her head.  
"What is this?" she wondered rubbing her eyes. "I didn't think I could cry anymore, what's happening to me? Why am I feeling happy?"  
She wiped the tears away and frowned.  
"Well now, since I can't wonder if they'll find each other anymore considering they did, things are gonna get boring around here... I'll have to remedy that. I'm gonna need a new toy!"  
  
A/N: At last! Wasn't it sweet? Those who are familiar with a certain game called Kingdom Hearts and played it over might think this rings a bell. I don't take any credit for this, I just thought it was suitable. Long chapter done! Another one... I wanted to finish it badly, so maybe I got lazy around the detail parts... Sorry, but I'm trying my best! Look forward the next one! 


	14. Chapter 13: Royal Proposal

Chapter 13: Royal Proposal  
  
The leading couple hasn't let go of each other when the gang finally entered Guadosalam. Upon entering, they were greeted by an old guy with long arms and fingers, a Guado.  
"Lady Yuna, it's nice to have you here."  
He reached out for her hand in an attempt to grab her, but Wakka stopped him.  
"Wow, wow, wow!" he interfered.  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Tromell. I was sent by Maester Seymour to invite Lady Yuna to his place. Of course, her friends are welcomed as well."  
"Maester Seymour wants to see me?" Yuna asked.  
"I wonder what's going on?" Tidus asked outloud.  
"Come over when you're ready," the old Guado said.  
He left while the others were looking at each other, wondering what to do.  
"Well, I guess we could go," Wakka said.  
"I wonder," Lulu said.  
Rikku took Tidus aside to explain how he could customize weapons and gears. The SeeDs didn't pay much attention since it was almost the same as junctionning. Now in town, safe and sound, everyone went separate ways. Squall and Carole went on top of a small bridge, leading to what was known as the Farplane. The girl rested against the wall while Squall looked at her. She seemed troubled about something.  
"Hey, what's wrong?" Squall inquired a bit concerned.  
"I... feel ashamed... So much happened while you were away. I... almost betrayed you..."  
She turned her back on him to hide her shameful face. Worried, Squall wrapped his arms around her, but not too tightly, just comfortingly and rested his face on her shoulder. She was startled a bit, the feeling bringing back bad memories.  
"I know... I was there with you, remember?"  
She nodded. She could always feel him there, sometimes even hear him.  
"It was weird," he said. "It was like... I was you sometimes, but I couldn't feel anything you were feeling, I could only watch. And other times, I was elsewhere and I could see you with another me... I remember I freaked out... I even remember seeing both at the same time! And I couldn't do anything!"  
"How did this happen?" she asked in a whisper. "How did you end up inside of me?"  
"I don't know..."  
She freed herself from his arms and walked towards the way to the Farplane. There was a strange energy coming from there that made her both uneasy and at peace in the same time.  
"I should have noticed! I should have realized it wasn't really you!"  
"But you did," Squall said walking to her.  
"At the last moment!"  
"Everyone was fooled, weren't they?"  
"Yeah, but I should have... It nearly got me!"  
"But it didn't!"  
She took her head in her hands and shook it.  
"I'm all messed up! I'm scared and I don't even know why! I feel like it was my fault if you ended up inside me! But how in the world could I have done this?"  
  
"It must be because of that Sorceress, I'm sure you have nothing to do with this."  
She held herself.  
"Even though there was everyone around me, that they were all there to cheer me up, I felt so lonely! I could only think about you..."  
"So did I... But I had faith in you. Since I was both with you and in that other form at the same time, I knew you were the link to it..."  
She turned to him. She looked so scared that Squall felt an urge to hug her that he fought.  
"I feel something inside me and it scares me because I don't know what it is... What if Veronique did something to me?"  
"I'll kill her..." he said with a cold voice.  
She looked up at him.  
"If she hurts you, I'll kill her..."  
"But she might be our only chance to go back home..."  
Squall folded his arms.  
"I don't care... Going back home just wouldn't be worth it if you're not with me..."  
He went to her and held her.  
"I'm here. Whatever happens, I'll be there. I won't let anything happen to you."  
She looked up to his face with a few tears of fear still stubbornely sticking in her eyes.  
"Whatever happens?"  
"What-ever..."  
He lowered his head and kissed her real gently, not hastily or eagerly like that fake Squall. This kiss was full of love and care, which she missed a lot. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the few tears were released just like the fear was leaving with it.  
Whistling sounds and clapping were heard from the other side of the bridge, where they came from. They let go of each other, startled and turned around. Their friends were all there, Rachel and Zell on the front, cheering on.  
"What the?" Carole started.  
"You have no idea how long we've been waiting for this!" Zell said.  
"For what?" Squall asked.  
"For the happy-sweety-smoochy reunion!" Selphie answered.  
They all had a smile on their face while Squall and Carole rather had red on their cheeks.  
"Why?" Squall asked.  
"We showed our appreciation when we found each other," Quistis said looking at Dave.  
"We all love each other, but none of us went through what you two went through," Rinoa said.  
"Carole tried to hide her sorrow and concern because she was leader, but she was the one who was the most concerned about you," Adam said. "I can understand she was scared to lose you for real this time."  
"So we wanted to see her happy in your arms," Rachel finished. "And we saw it at last!"  
"Now we have both our leaders back the way they were!" Zell stated.  
Kerry had a smile but kept her joy for herself. Her mentor finally got back her loved one and for the first time, she could see her really happy. After worrying about her in her zombie state, to see her happy was reassuring and made her feel like she helped.  
"Now that we're back together, what do we do?" Seifer inquired when the gang went back down.  
"I guess we really are at the Sorceress' mercy," Squall stated. "Why does it seem that I can't do anything without being involved with Sorceresses? No offense, Rinoa..."  
"No, it's alright... I guess it's your fate," she said peeking at Carole with a curious frown.  
Knowing it wasn't appropriate, Carole wasn't holding Squall like she wanted to.  
"So, are you leaving?" someone asked.  
They turned around and saw Tidus standing behind them.  
"We don't know how, anyway," Carole said.  
"Why not stay around with us, then? I mean, you don't know where to go and since you're all together now..."  
"It would be an option," Squall agreed.  
Tidus was staring at Squall, scanning him, judging his strength from his looks but it was hard. He could guess the guy wasn't letting anything show.  
"Glad to know you're the real thing this time. I just hope you don't really act like the other one."  
He went away towards the back mansion.  
"Huh?" Squall asked turning to Carole without understanding.  
"Your fake self gave him a hard time, he humiliated him a bit."  
"Oh... I hope he doesn't think I'm really like that!"  
"He's quite a showoff," Seifer told. "Not a bad fighter, but he's full of himself!"  
"I know someone else like that..." Squall trailed off.  
Everyone turned to Seifer which caused him to frown.  
"Hey!"  
"Don't take it bad, Seifer, I'm just kidding!"  
"To say that I was worried about you..."  
"Oh, you shouldn't have!"  
Everyone laughed. Finally, things were starting to look up... but for how long? Veronique did say she was getting bored, what would she come up with next?  
Yuna and her Guardians were waiting around the entrance of Seymour's mansion. When they saw everyone show up with Tidus first, they seemed pleased although they tried to hide it. Except Yuna. She gladly let it show.  
"I was wondering if you would leave, I'm glad to see I was wrong... Or am I not?"  
"Well, since we don't know where to go or what to do yet..." Carole started still caught up in the leader part.  
Then she turned to Squall with a sorry smile.  
"Oups, forgot that's your part..."  
He shook his head.  
"Feel free to butt in whenever you want. I told you, you could do it."  
"We got two leaders, then?" Zell asked.  
"Yup!" Carole said putting a thumb up.  
"Are we going, now?" Auron interfered.  
His face hidden behind his collar, he kept his smile for himself seeing the youngsters enjoying themselves so much.  
Yuna turned to him and bowed several times.  
"Sorry."  
With that settled, the pretty large gang entered the mansion, Yuna and her guardians first, and the foreigners followed. They past the double red door and entered the main hall. There was another the room in the back and a staircase going up form both sides of the room and meeting on the top. Tromell was standing there to greet them.  
"This way, my lady," he said showing them to the next room.  
On the other side, most of the gang widened their eyes. There was a huge table in the middle of the room full of all kinds of things to eat. A real feast.  
"Help yourself, Lord Seymour will see you shortly," Tromell told before leaving the room.  
Rikku hurried to the food and Tidus tried some, unsure. Kerry watched Carole, apparently waiting for an approbation. Carole nodded with a smile and the girl went shyly towards the pile of food. Zell scanned the different things on the table like he was looking for something.  
"Forget it, Zell," Rachel interfered. "I don't think they'll have hot dogs in this kind of feast."  
The others all giggled or smiled. Zell frowned.  
"I know that, I'm just looking at what there is to make my choice!"  
"Yeah, right..."  
After eating up a bit, Tidus went to Lulu who explained him something about Seymour and the Guados. [sorry, I don't remember it very well...]  
"That's not very nice!" Seifer complained. "He wanted to see us, but then we have to wait for him?"  
"That's how important people work," Quistis said.  
"Yeah, like in Galbadia Garden where we waited for the headmaster to see us for our report!" Selphie recalled.  
"Actually, we arrived without warning," Squall corrected. "We disturbed him, he had all rights to make us wait."  
"You know what I mean!" Seifer cut, getting angry.  
The door on the other side was opened, interrupting everything. Seymour came in.  
"I apologize for making you wait. I'm glad you accepted to see me, lady Yuna."  
Yuna bowed.  
"Why does she always do that?" Adam asked in a discreet whisper.  
"I see you brought all your friends, including your Guardians. If you'd follow me, I would like to show you all something."  
He went back into the room where he came from. Everyone looked at each other. Yuna followed him without hesitation and her guardians followed. Tidus did as well, but not without a frown of curiosity. The others all ended up turning to Squall and his girlfriend, standing side by side as usual.  
"What are you expecting?" Squall asked putting a fist on his hip. "We are invited so since we're here, we might as well go too."  
They went after Yuna and the others into the room. It proved out to be a dark room. They set careful steps in then all of a sudden, a sea of stars spread under their feet, causing much surprise to everyone. They were shortly surrounded by millions of stars. Shooting stars joined in. Yuna looked all around with a smile at this sight and she was not the only one. Rikku was jumping up like she was trying to catch some. Selphie couldn't resist either. Everyone was amazed, to busy to stare at this magnificence to question its origine.  
"This sphere is a reconstruction from the thoughts of the dead that wander the farplane," Seymour explained as he placed himself next to Yuna.  
The stars were then replaced by a huge city, spreading under their feet like they were standing high in the sky. A large city at night, all lit up. A technologically advanced city. The SeeDs thought that Esthar was far from this while someone found this familiar. Tidus looked around with surprise then they appeared inside the city, on a street. People were walking around, going back and forth through them like they were not even there. Couples or singles, there was a lot of life in this place. A voice could be heard echoing like it was speaking in a microphone, announcing god knows what.  
"Zanarkand!" Tidus exclaimed.  
"Correct," Seymour said. "Zanarkand as it looked one thousand years ago."  
The street vanished and they were once again transported above, following some kind of rail.  
"The great and wondrous Machina city: Zanarkand." Seymour added. "She once lived in this metropolis."  
"Hmph!" Auron let out with a grin.  
"She who?" Yuna asked turning to Seymour.  
He looked at her then looked back in front of him, not answering to the question everyone wanted answered even though most wouldn't have understood the answer.  
The scenery switched for the inside of a room with a large bed. A ghostly woman was sitting on that bed. She had long blue-grey hair and she wasn't wearing many clothes. Yuna recognized her right away.  
"Lady Yunalesca!" she exclaimed pointing the woman.  
"Yes. She was the first Summoner who defeated Sin. And you, lady Yuna, have inherited her name," he said turning to her.  
"It was my father who named me."  
Yuna and Seymour were both standing close to the entrance of the room while the others were scattered around, listening to the explanations. Except for the guardians, everyone was lost, even Tidus. Although it started to sound not so weird anymore which scared them. They were getting used to this place although they still didn't know much about it, including its history.  
A ghostly figure came from behind Yuna and Seymour and walked through the young summoner. A man taller than the woman wearing strange clothing. Seeing him, the woman hurried to him and straight into his arms which he opened for her. They hugged with passion. Yuna looked aside, a bit shameful to witness such a thing. When the couple broke apart, Seymour closened in on her and whispered something to her ear, only for her to hear. Her eyes suddenly widened and she placed her hand over her mouth, shocked.  
The scene ended and they got back in the room with the food. Seeing Yuna in shock, everyone gathered around her.  
"What's wrong?" Tidus asked her.  
She went to the back of the room and grabbed a glass before drinking its content in one shot. Seymour remained on the other side of the room while the others all waited for Yuna to get over her shock and speak.  
"He... asked me to marry him," she let out.  
"What?"  
"You serious?" Tidus inquired like he couldn't believe it.  
Just as surprised as Yuna, everyone turned to Seymour for some kind of explanation. To ask her to marry him? Just like that?  
[the last part was pretty accurate, but now... I can't get to remember it so well!]  
Seymour started talking more about Spira than feelings, saying that he was thinking about Spira when he proposed to her, thinking about the people.  
"You don't have to answer right away, please, consider," he asked. "Then I'll be waiting for a positive answer."  
He left the place, leaving Yuna totally lost and the others very suspicious.  
"They barely know each other!" Irvine exclaimed.  
"Like that ever stopped you from flirting," Selphie exclaimed.  
"This is serious," Carole interfered. "It's not like kids swearing they'll get married when they're older, it's about adults uniting their lives only for the benefit of the people!"  
She thought it was stupid. Herself was getting married for love, she couldn't imagine any other reason.  
"In the past, people married to expand territories," Dave told. "But in these days, no one does that anymore."  
"So what will you tell him?" Tidus asked.  
He seemed almost reluctant about hearing the answer, fearing an approval.  
"I... have to think about it."  
"Of course," Lulu said.  
"Let's go outside and talk about it," Wakka suggested.  
Everyone agreed and left the mansion.  
Tidus tried to get someone to talk some sense into Yuna, that she couldn't do this! He also thought that marriage should be for love but when he went to Lulu, he received a strange comment.  
"If she would have to marry, I would want her to marry for love," she started.  
"See?"  
"But, if she would tell me she'd want to marry the one she loves, I would have to object."  
"Huh?"  
"He's clueless, isn't he?" Dave asked pointing Tidus.  
"Completely," Seifer agreed.  
"What?" Zell asked. "Clueless about what?"  
Carole giggled while Dave and Seifer slapped their forehead in discouragement.  
"Figures..."  
Zell remained without anymore comment.  
"I would like to go to the farplane to speak to my parents," Yuna decided.  
That single sentence didn't make much sense to most ot those gathered there. Weren't her parents dead?  
"That Farplane is where you send the dead, isn't it?" Audrey asked.  
"Yes."  
"So what are there? Ghosts?"  
"Not exactly," Wakka explained. "Its full of pyreflies that react to our thoughts and form the images of the departed."  
"Said like that, it sounds almost stupid," Zell said.  
"Then maybe even you can understand it," Seifer let out.  
Everyone laughed nervously. Time was not for jokes, they were in the middle of something serious.  
Yuna lead the way up to the bridge where Squall and Carole spent some time alone earlier. They got through the opening and walked a passageway to yet another bridge, going up through some strange looking wall. It looked like it was made of water, but it was feeling like anything. When they touched it, they didn't sense anything on their skin.  
"What's the meaning of a wall if it's not stopping us from going in?" Adam asked, not understanding.  
"Maybe it's rather to keep things from coming out," Squall answered. "Maybe those pyreflies react to this wall."  
While everyone had gathered up and were going in, Auron remained back and sat against the bridge.  
"Aren't you coming?"  
"There's nothing for me there. I do not belong there."  
"What about you?" Tidus asked turning to Rikku on the opposite side of the bridge, facing Auron.  
Her legs were dangling over the edge.  
"I keep my memories inside. I don't have to see projections of people I loved to remember them."  
"Alright."  
The SeeDs were much too curious to stay behind. Maybe even a bit uneasy. After all, this was considered like the home of the dead. At the thought, Kerry closened on Carole who placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Squall smiled at the thought.  
"She's quite fond of you, isn't she?"  
"I'm trying my best not to let her think about what she left behind but rather about the fact that we are going back. I trained her my best but I'm not sure if I did it right."  
"I'm sure you did just fine. Later, I can help you too, if you want," he said turning to Kerry.  
"Oh, it would be an honor!" she said feeling fire in her cheeks.  
They stepped foot through the wall, shivering from the absence of feeling from this wall. What appeared in front of them caused most of them to freeze and stare. It was amazing, beyond words! Squall travelled a lot during the 2nd Sorceress' War and he never saw anything quite similar to this. Even when they travelled through time to meet Ultimecia it wasn't like that. Different but not the same at all! Nothing could compare to this scenery but the place where they were standing caused him to shiver, ringing a bell. A stone plate, a large stone plate on top of stairs in the middle of nothingness. Since there was something around this plate, unlike when he got lost in time, he calmed down a bit.  
Yuna went to the end of the place, Wakka to the side and Lulu a bit aside. Kimahri just stood by the entrance, arms folded, waiting as usual.  
The SeeDs weren't sure what they were seeing. In front of Wakka, there was a young man floating, some pyreflies going through him from time to time. He had red hair, just like him and he was surprisingly a lot like Tidus except for the hair.  
"I guess that's Chappu?" Rachel wondered.  
"He does look a lot like Tidus!" Carole exclaimed, pretty surprised. "I wouldn't have thought he looked that much like him!"  
Wakka was talking to the image of his brother, talking to him about Tidus, about how he looked like him and about his sword he gave him. Not too far, Tidus heard the whole thing and realised the Brotherhood had a lot of meaning to Wakka. He was also surprise to se how he did look like Chappu. He took his sword in hand and looked at it with a new found respect. This wasn't just a sword, it was a memento. He suddenly felt it get more powerful, like Chappu totally agreed for Tidus to have it and let it show it's real power. It was now reinforced with water power. Whenever it would strike, it would give water damage.  
Lulu was standing in front of nothing at all which seemed to confuse her. She was expecting someone who didn't come and it caused her to worry.  
"Why won't you appear?" she asked outloud.  
In the back, Yuna was standing in front of two people. One was familiar, but the other was not. Her father looked familiar for they saw his statue in the temple, but her mother, they never saw her. Tidus went to her, still hoping she wasn't going to give a positive answer to Seymour.  
"When I look at them, how happy they look..."  
She paused.  
"I've decided."  
"What are you going to do?" Tidus asked a bit sad.  
"I have to do this not as a woman, but as a summoner. My own happiness comes after the people's happiness. If it can bring them happiness, I have to do it."  
There was nothing to change her mind and Tidus knew it only too well. Yuna turned to him.  
"Go ahead, now. Call sir Jecht."  
"Huh?"  
"Don't worry, he won't come."  
Tidus kept his head down. Trying not to think about his old man, made him think about him of course. And of course, he didn't appear. He wasn't dead, he was Sin.  
"See?" Yuna said with a smile. "I'm sure we will find him."  
"It's just that he makes me so mad! It's because of him that me and my mother..."  
He was interrupted by the apparition of a feminie form right in front of him. He widened his eyes in surprise for he was not expecting this.  
"Uh... mom?"  
Yuna looked at her a moment with a smile.  
"She's really pretty."  
"But how? No one performed a sending for her!"  
"She must have accepted death when it came."  
"Hey, that's my mother you're talking about," Tidus said a bit offended.  
"I'm sorry."  
"Nah, it's alright. When my father disappeared, she just kinda lost her will to live. An old woman living next to me said that when two lovebirds get separated, the remaining one stops living."  
The others remained behind, listening in and waiting. Squall took Carole's hand and she turned to him. He smiled gently and she knew what that smile meant. If she would disappear, he would lose it as well. She smiled back, telling that if he were to disappear, she would die too.  
Done with their business and Yuna's mind made up, the group went to leave. Down the stairs on the other side of the wall, Tromell was waiting, knowing Yuna would bring back an answer.  
"I've decided to marry Maester Seymour but on one condition. That after I'm married, I can continue my pilgrimage."  
"But of course, Lord Seymour would want no less!"  
Some exclamations caught people's attention. At the wall, a ghostly figure was trying to walk through it!  
"Lord Jyscal!" Someone exclaimed.  
They remembered hearing he was Seymour's dead father.  
"Yuna, send him back," Auron told. "He doesn't belong here."  
"Alright."  
She walked up the stairs and took out her staff. She started spinning it around into her sending and at the same time, Auron suddenly felt bad and dropped on his knees. Since he was standing in the back, no one saw this.  
The figure faded and something was dropped when it did. A blue sphere Yuna kneeled down to take before anyone else would see her.  
"What was that all about?" Tidus asked as they were gathering again to leave.  
No one answered, either ignoring him, or just not feeling like answering.  
"Hey, what happened?" Zell asked as well.  
"Isn't Lord Jyscal, Seymour's father?" Carole asked.  
"Yes," Yuna answered.  
"I thought there was no real people in the farplane!" Quistis exclaimed. "How come he tried to come out?"  
"He still has attachment to this world," Lulu explained. "He must have died an unclean death."  
"What, someone killed him or something?" Rachel asked.  
"Argh, who cares?" Seifer said. "We could spend our entire lives trying to figure it out, and we wouldn't get anywhere, let's just get outta here!"  
"He's right," Auron agreed. "Leave this mather to the Guado, Yuna."  
"Yes."  
Since she had to give her answer to Seymour herself, they went back to the mansion. They were to wait a bit outside so Tidus went for a walk. He couldn't get through this. Yuna was going to marry Seymour. From the first time he saw him, he knew the guy was trouble but if she'd marry him, what would happen? And why marry? He took his head in his hands and realized he didn't want her to do it, but was it for the reasons he thought of for something else.  
"Am I... jealous?" he asked outloud.  
Towards the exit, he came upon Shelinda he met a while ago. She seemed exited about something.  
"Is the rumor true?" she asked. "Lord Seymour and Lady Yune are gonna get married?"  
"So it seems," he answered, amazed at how fast the news were spreading.  
"It's gonna be a joyfull day for all of Spira."  
"She was just gonna give him her answer."  
"Oh, but Lord Seymour is not here anymore. He left for Macalania. He's the Measter of the temple there."  
"Just great, so now we'll have to go after him?!"  
"What's wrong?" someone asked behind him.  
Tidus turned around and saw Carole standing there, Squall right next to her. He smiled a bit, understanding that nothing could make them leave each other ever again.  
"It seems Seymour left the place."  
"It's Measter Seymour, or Lord Seymour," Shelinda corrected.  
"Oh, right, I'll be careful."  
"I guess we'll go after him, since Yuna wants to give him her answer," Squall understood, putting a fist on his hip.  
"That's fine, we'll be able to leave this place. It makes me uneasy for some reason."  
"Let"s go tell the others, then," Tidus suggested.  
Squall placed a comforting arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and clenched her shoulder a bit. He realised she was incredibly sharp since her disability. Since Guadosalam was the resting place of the dead, no wonder she was feeling uneasy.  
They went back to the mansion where Tidus explained that Seymour went to a place called 'Macarena'.  
"It's Macalania," Lulu corrected.  
"Whoups!" [that's not what he says, but I don't know how to spell it!]  
They all gathered around Yuna and her guardians, waiting for her command.  
"Well, I must give him my answer and we have to leave anyway, so..."  
"I guess we're going, ya?" Wakka stated.  
It was settled. Aside, Rikku suddenly looked really scared.  
"We'll have to go to the Thunderplains?"  
"It's the only way outta here," Wakka said.  
She seemed pretty reluctant but she could guess there wasn't any choice. They went down the road and as they were going, they could hear thunder cracking in the distance. As they were moving forward, it seemed closer.  
"What is that?" Rinoa asked.  
"The Thunderplains, the field of constant thunder," Lulu explained. "It never stops."  
"It never stops..." Rikku repeated. "I hate thunder."  
"We don't have much of a choice," Squall said. "If we want to go, we have to go throught there."  
"Ohh...."  
With a very reluctant Rikku, the group was set in motion towards the Thunderplains, the field of eternal thunder.  
  
"Heh, heh... It will be my turn to enter the scene. You had it easy long enough, it's time we remedy that..."  
  
A/N: Do I have to precise who that last sentence was from? You guessed it right? Took me quite a long time to write this chapter and it was confusing! I can get most parts alright but then, it's blackout! I can't remember anything! I consider myself quite a perfectionnist, but if I was, I would replay the whole game to make it the same! But I don't want to! With the new characters, it has to be different! Review please! I want to know how I did! I'll try and hurry up as bit for the next chapter! 


	15. Chapter 14: Fun is over! What fun

**Chapter 14 : Fun is over! What fun...**

****

            The sky was dark and thunder was cracking. Sometimes if they were not careful, a lightning bolt could come right at them. Since there were always lightning striking all over the place, they weren't as powerful as a single bolt during a storm. With enough speed and agility and good instincts too, they could avoid the bolts at the last second. They had to constantly move or walk close to pillars made to attact the lightning. 

Rikku was shaking with fear every step of the way. She was walking on the rear when she suddenly stopped.

"Heh heh heh heh heh....." she said a strange way, her hands joined on her chest. "Heh heh heh heh heh....."

"'Heh heh heh heh....' you're giving me the creeps!" Tidus told.

A crack of thunder came close and Rikku let out a scream before holding her head with her hands and crouching down. Then she suddenly collapsed, making the others worried. They waited a moment.

"You alright?" Carole inquired.

Rikku suddenly started crawling like an insect in circles until she got to Tidus and grabbed his leg.

"Hey!"

"I wanna go home! I'm scared!"

"We have to go through here to reach Macalania," Lulu stated.

"I don't care! I had enough of thunder! I wanna go home!"

Tidus got free from her grip so they could start walking again.

"What are you so scared of?" Squall inquired.

"When I was little, my brother wanted to cast a thunder spell on a monster, but it hit me instead!"

            "Ah, I see, a scar from younger days," Carole said with a smile. "You know, when you hear the thunder crack, it's much after the lightning struck, so you're safe!"

            "Really?" 

            "Yeah!"

            "A...alright then...I'll keep going..."

            They moved again on the plains. Some monsters felt brave enough to challenge the gang, mostly thunder monsters, poor Rikku. No match for the SeeDs and their friends who had some water magics junctionned to elem-atk, proved to be a little harder for the summoner and their guardians. But for Tidus and the new power of Brotherhood, waterstrike, it proved itself to be pretty effective.

            Few hours later, in the middle of the field, they came upon another of those travel agencies. They still had a way to go, so there was no time for a rest. With their endurance, the SeeDs didn't complain and even though she would have taken the rest, Kerry, decided to follow. She didn't want to slow the others. She would try and bear with it.

            Rikku for one, wasn't going to pass such an opportunity.

            "Can we stop here for a while?" she asked staying behind.

            "We don't have time," Auron said as they kept going.

            "Just a while?"

            "It's not stopping, you know," he added.

            "I know, but just for a minute?"

            They walked ahead again, leaving her there.

            "Pretty please?"

            Kerry couldn't help but hope they would agree.

            "You're really mean, you know!"

            They ignored her once again.

            "You don't care about me, do you?!"

            "Oh, alright," Auron said, giving up. "She's more annoying than the thunder."

            Grateful, she entered the inn and went by the door. The others followed.

            "I'm going to rest for a while," Yuna said before going to the counter to pay for a room.

            She headed in the hall where the rooms were. Kerry sat down in a corner. Seeing she was dozing, Carole paid for a room as well and took her there for a rest. Squall looked at this silently with a smile. It looked like a mother taking care of her child, or at least a girl taking care of her little sister.

            Carole came back alone from the hall.

            "She fell asleep right away," she told with a smile.

            "Well, she is pretty young," Rachel stated.

            "I tend to forget that. It's hard on her all this walking, this fighting..."

            "But she's doing good," Squall said.

            "Yeah, it amazes me. She doesn't complain either. She just follows us and do what we do."

            "No wonder she was worn out," Zell said.

            Not that tired, Carole stretched out.

            "I'm going out."

            "Are you crazy?" Rikku exclaimed.

            "Just outside the inn. There is no thunder there, so I'll be fine."

            "I'm coming," Squall said going after her.

            Almost everyone went out. Rachel stayed inside with Zell and Audrey. Auron, Wakka, Lulu and Kimahri remained there as well, but Tidus was curious of what Yuna was doing. She seemed troubled about something, so he wanted to make sure she was fine by going to her room.

            Just outside the inn, thunder was still cracking of course, and the sky was still dark.

            "What a boring scenery!" Selphie exclaimed. "I hope we can get out of here soon!"

            "We don't even know where it ends, Sephie," Irvine said.

            Carole went to look for something in her pockets and took out the map she got from Luzzu back in Besaid. She had a thought for the guy who helped them and died on the battlefield.

            The others gathered around her, forming a big circle.

            "Here," she said pointing the map. "We're here so that means we still have half way to go."

            "Does this even mean anything?" Seifer asked getting angry. 

            "What do you mean?" Squall wondered.

            "How do we know if that crazy sorceress will let us go? What if she never has enough of watching us struggle?"

            The thought came to everyone's mind, but most were hoping that she was still somewhat human and would let them go eventually.

            "Well, she did say we'd see her again..." Carole trailed off.

            She grabbed the Griever around her neck. The mood was going down and it was not good for a team of SeeDs so Squall tried to light things up.

            "Hey, let's spar," he told his girlfriend.

            "Huh?"

            "Well, it's been a while since the last time we fought together, I want to see how good you got."  
            "You saw me fight monsters on the way."

            "Since we fought against each other, I mean."

            "Oh, I see... Alright, then!"

            She took out her gunblade and swung it at Squall who jumped back to avoid it, taking out his own gunblade as well. Watching the two gunblades out made Seifer want to spar a little as well.

            True, it has been a while since the last time they fought against each other and Squall had to admit Carole indeed improved her skills. Even though Squall has been trapped away from his body for a while, he hasn't lost any of his strength, not at all.

            The gunblades clashed and the spectators couldn't believe what they were seeing. They were going at it so seriously, they could kill each other if they were not careful.

            "You sure've gotten good!" Squall said with a smile pushing her out.

            "You're not bad yourself, you know," she answered with a smile as well swinging her gunblade back.

            He blocked it as he always did. He swung down and she blocked it, pushing it away. Then she swung from the top but not really facing him not to leave an opening. She taught herself that after seeing the leader of the Renegades stab Squall when he wasn't careful. She promised herself he would never have to face it himself.

            Squall blocked over his head then pushed her with his elbow. She nearly lost her balance so he took advantage of it. One firm strike on her gunblade and it fell down. She dropped as well but when she tried to reach out for her weapon, Squall pointed the tip at her throat. The others were holding their breaths, speechless. Carole smiled.

            "I've improved but you're still the best, Squall," she said catching her breath.

            He put his weapon aside and held his hand to her. She took it so he could help her up.

            "Wow!" someone exclaimed.

            Everyone turned to the entrance and saw Tidus standing there, Brotherhood in hand. His eyes were wide opened with amazement.

            "You guys are so cool! I'm no match!" 

            "Don't say that until you try us," Squall said a challenging way.

            "Oh yeah?"

            Strengthening his grip on Brotherhood, willing to see if the real thing was somewhat like the fake, Tidus walked to Squall.

            "Hey, you just fought Carole so I think it's unfair that we would fight right now."

            "Oh, this was a good warm-up, no offense, Carole."

            "Nah, I always knew I would never get to your level."

            She was still a bit disappointed. She really thought she improved more than that since they last trained. She didn't even last longer than usual. Was there a mistake she kept repeating? Squall would have told her. Or maybe he was just that damn good.

            "I know I pomised you a fight, Tidus, but if you beat Squall, you'll never have to fight me. He's much more experienced than I am. Much stronger and he's not soft like me."

            "Well I didn't see anything soft from you while you were fighting."

            She went for her gunblade, but someone already got it for her.

            "Thanks, Dave."

            "Wow," he trailed of. "I never even touched a gunblade before. It's quite heavy."

            "Yeah, but I don't even feel it's weight anymore. Although I feel it's missing when I don't have it with me."

            He handed it to her then looked at his own katana. He didn't choose this one for nothing. There was a serpent like dragon around the sheat, but there also was one carved on the blade. He looked at Tidus trying attacks on Squall to figure his weak spot, but then he started wondering if he had one. Yes, he had a weak spot and she was standing right next to him. Like during the Great Battle, would she be threatened, he'd do anything to save her, even die. So would she.

            Squall was giving Tidus the time to think this, giving him a chance and Tidus was aware of that. That was something the fake one didn't have in common with him.

            Dave looked at Brotherhood clashing against Lionheart. It was quite cool. Seifer's gunblade seemed to itch in his hands like he was dying to use it against Squall even thought he knew only too well he was no match for him, like he was not a match for him in the past. Seeing all these blades around brought a smile to his lips.

            "What is it?" Carole asked with an amused smile.

            "Oh nothing. Just that I remembered something."

            "What?"

            "I like swords," he said with a dumb smile.

            Quistis bursted out in laughter and so did Carole. Dave looked from one to another, wondering what was going on.

            "Hey! What did I say? What is it?"

            "You should have seen your face!" Quistis managed to say.

            "My face?"

            Dave smiled widely and way exagerately. Quistis raised a hand over his face.

            "Please, don't do that!!"

            "I do understand your point, though," Carole managed to say after calming her laughter. "I really wanted a blade for my weapon as well, but in the end, the gunblade got all my interest. Maybe I was influenced a bit..."

            She turned her gaze at Squall swinging Lionheart around with that focused look she knew so well but also with some amusement. He was enjoying his fight and that was what mattered most. 

            Tidus dashed and slashed, paying attention not to leave an opening, which Squall silently admired. The guy might not have been much of a fighter, he was a quick learner. He had lots of potential. Unfortunately for him, Squall had enough time to notice he wasn't serious enough about this.

            The star player slashed horizontally but Squall ducked under the blade and dashed towards him at incredible speed under the blade. Tidus widened his eyes in surprise realizing it was too late to avoid the impact. Squall had a grin just before he tackled his shoulder into Tidus' chest hard enough to push him away. Tidus dropped on the ground, catching his breath. Squall was quickly back in position and pointed his gunblade at Tidus' face. Tidus raised his hands.

            "I surrender, but I'm not disappointed."

            Squall put his weapon aside and held his hand out to his comrade to help him up.

            "Why is that?" he asked.

            "You live up to your reputation, Mr.world savior."

            Squall arched an eyebrow then turned to Carole who shrugged innocently.

            "Anyway, you're on the right way for improvement," Squall said. "Let me say this: we were just sparring so no one was gonna get hurt. But when you fight, you must not fight only to fight, to win or to defeat your oponent. Your oponent may be threatening something, it doesn't have to be a world threat, it can threaten your life, your home, or your friends. Fight for what you're protecting, not just for victory."

            Tidus nodded.

            "Thanks, I'll try and remember that."

            He placed Botherhood aside and the others joined in.

            "Wow, that was great!" Adam said.

            "I'm no good," Tidus said a bit embarrassed scratching the back of his head.

            "You heard the man, you just have to focus, that's all," Seifer said with a light smile.

            "I couldn't have said better than Squall," Carole said. "Remind me to tell Kerry that."

            "I don't think it would be wise," Squall said. "She's just a kid, Carole."

            "A kid not to be taken lightly, Squall. Believe me, if we give her the chance, at our age, she's gonna be twice as strong as we are!"

            "I have to start training harder, then!" Squall realized. "What will they say when a little girl gets stronger than the SeeD Leader?!"

            The gang started laughing light heartedly. It was good to laugh without worrying about if it was a proper time or not. Just laugh because it was funny, especially because Squall was the one making the joke which was a pretty rare thing!

            Something suddenly changed in the air. It was faint but there. Rinoa stopped laughing and Carole followed, both paying a close attention to the surroundings. Adam noticed the sudden change in his girlfriend's behavior.

            "What is it, Rin?" he asked with still some laughter in his voice.

            Rinoa was looking at the sky, slowly moving only her eyes while Carole was looking all around. She was feeling something weird in the air, but she couldn't figure out what it was or where it was coming from. Another manifestation of her sixth sense. Then it was Squall's turn to notice.

            "Rinoa? What is it? Carole?"

            Everyone noticed the sudden change of the girls' behavior and stopped laughing.

"I'm not sure, it's familiar, but... I can't figure out what it is..."

            "I know this," Carole said. "That feeling of being watched..."

            "Veronique?" Selphie asked getting a bit scared.

            "No doubt about it!" Rinoa said readying her weapon on her arm.

            Everyone else did the same, looking around, not sure and a bit worried. Veronique had a huge advantage on them: she knew what they were doing and could even read their minds. She could see them and the only clue they had on her wherabouts was Rinoa's Sorceress intuition, plus Carole's sixth sense. Not much to counter a surprise attack from a twisted Sorceress.

            "Where is she?" Irvine asked outloud loading his gun.

            "Should we call the others?" Seifer inquired.

            "Not necessary," Squall answered. "No need to scare everyone, she hasn't shown up yet."

            "That can be taken care of," a familiar voice said out of nowhere.

            Everyone turned around towards the way they should be heading next and a figure appeared. A familiar figure they knew they would see again even though they were all silently hoping they would not. Unfortunately, it was not to be once more. Veronique appeared, a fist on her hip, her whip in the other, cracking it on the ground. The sound was followed by the cracking of thunder. Coincidence or was she responsible for this as well? She was crazy enough to make her own special effects. Of course, they were unnecessary. She was already unweclomed, she didn't need to add anymore to her presence.

            "What do you want, now?" Carole asked moving to the front.

            Squall quickly followed, both taking on their leader part on an impulse.

            "My, aren't we grumpy today."

            "Ask yourself why? Aren't you tired of tourmenting us?"

            Veronique reached for her chin in an attempt to look like she was thinking.

            "Hmm... Nope!"

            She gave them a wide smile that was undoubtedly hiding something.

            "Watch it, she has something in mind," Rinoa warned.

            "Oh, you show some improvement," Veronique said to her fellow sorceress.

            "Then what is it?" Carole asked getting impatient.

            "It doesn't concern you for once, you should be grateful!"

            "For once?" Squall asked.

            "True, you were not around, but your girlfriend proved out to be full of surprises and very fun to mess with! I left you enjoy yourself long enough, the fun is over!"

            "What fun?" Seifer asked in an angry tone. "We're stuck on another world knowing we're at your mercy and you say we are having fun?!"

            "The only one having fun here, is you!" Selphie added.

            "In fact, I was getting bored. I'm getting tired of messing with Carole's feelings, and I'm feeling pretty lonely..."

            She appeared to be sulking like a little girl who is left alone at home for a long time.

            "So what?" Squall asked.

            Something was itching in the back of Carole's mind and she didn't know what it was. Like she knew something was up and even though she couldn't figure out what it was, she knew it wasn't any good for them.

            "I just want some company, that's all."

            "Why don't you go see a doctor?" Irvine advised.

            "And leave us alone while you're at it!" Adam.

            Veronique suddenly focused her sight on him and grinned.

            "You didn't forget me, did you? I told you I would come back..."

            "What?"

            Tidus was there the whole time, but he really felt out of place. They all seemed to know her, she was probably the witch they were talking about, the one responsible for them being stuck on Spira. He wished his being on Spira could be solved that simply.

            Veronique suddenly cracked her whip in her hand and raised the other one to the sky, raising a huge smoke cloud around them.

            "Watch it!" Rinoa told.

            They all covered their eyes when a whistling sound was heard along with a faint scream that vanished just as quick as it started.

            "Tornado!" Carole cast.

            The smoke was gone then she quickly looked amongst the group. Someone was missing.

            "Adam!" Rinoa called with fear realizing her boyfriend was gone.

            "Wahahahaha!!!" Veronique's laugh echoed behind them.

            All turned around in the same time, even Tidus who was getting pretty annoyed by the girl.

            "Adam!" Carole exclaimed seeing her friend trapped in Veronique's arms.

            She had one of his arms held tightly behind his back and her whip was wrapped around his neck.

            "I choose him for my new pet. You don't really need him anyway, do you? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

            "L... let go of me!"

            "Don't worry... I won't bite," she whispered close to his ear in a seducive way.

            "Let him go, Sorceress!!" Rinoa warned.

            "And if I don't?"

            Rinoa bowed and was wrapped into a reddish aura while two white wings were spreading out of her back. She started floating, carried by her own wings. Tidus jumped aside and dropped, his legs giving way under.

            "Wh... what is that?"

            Rinoa's eyed were yellow as they always were in that state. She was still counscious enough not to get berserk and start unleashing spells all around.

            "Oh, you want to fight? That wouldn't be healthy for him," she threatened tightening the whip around Adam's neck.

            The poor guy shut his eyes and bared his teeth with pain.

            "Ugh..."

            "Stop it!" Carole yelled extending a hand.

            Squall stopped her. What more could she do? What more any of them could do? She had a hostage and could kill him anytime she wanted.

            "I don't want to kill him," she assured reading their fears. "I just want to play a little, that's all. I never wanted to kill any of you! Don't you think I would have done it a long time ago?"

            True. She had the power to kill them any time she wanted but she never even tried. She messed with them big time, messed with their lives, their feelings, their minds, but never threatened their lives directly.

            "Irvine, shoot her down!" Selphie said.

            "Don't do that!" Squall ordered. "You could get Adam instead!"

            "Right, listen to your leader. It would be a shame if you were the ones to kill him, wouldn't it?"

            "What are you gonna do to him?" Rinoa inquired getting back to normal.

            "Not much, I said I'm lonely and he fits my description of a nice guy... Heh heh..."

            "If you touch him I swear I'll..." Rinoa started.

            "Why don't you stop, Veronique? What do you really want? You can't be tormenting us just for fun, isn't there something else?" Carole inquired with a sudden soft voice.

            The others all stared at her. What was she doing? Even Veronique was surprised by the question and lost her smile.

            "You always messed with me, why him now? Keep messing with me and leave them out of it!" she said waving her arm out.

            "You really think you're so special? I don't have anything against either of you, I'm just bored out of my mind and you are fun to mess with!!"

            She was saying it, but there was a definite change in Veronique's attitude: she was frowning. 

            "Time for talk is over!"

            She faded along with her prisoner to everyone's despair.

            "Adam!" Rinoa called, powerless.

            Carole dropped on her knees, her palms on the ground in front of her. Her shoulders were shaking and her eyes were wide opened. She was tensed and scared. 

            _What's this? What's going on? When she looked at me before she disappeared... What is it I'm feeling?_

A comforting hand on her shoulder managed to take her out of her thoughts and bring her back to normal. She spun her head around to Squall looking at her with concern all over his face.

            "Are you alright?" he inquired.

            She looked at her hands. It was not only to add weight to her words she extended her hand towards Veronique, it was on an impulse to do something. What? She didn't have a clue, why did she do that? She was sure she heard something when Veronique disappeared. She said something only she could hear.

            "Yeah," she answered getting up. "I'm just tired of all this..."

            _It burns doesn't it?_

That's what she heard. What did she mean by that? The SeeD clenched her fist. She hated that feeling, the feeling of being helpless, the feeling to have nothing else to do but watch. She turned a sorry face to Rinoa, but saw the Sorceress was already surrounded by Irvine, Selphie, Dave and Quistis.

            Squall suddenly wrapped his arms around her, startling her. She froze and stiffened a moment before calming down. How come he always figured out when she was lying. She was not alright and he knew it. He also knew she didn't want to talk so he just did what he knew she wanted him to do: be there. Just to be with her when things were getting too hard to bare. She closed her eyes and held his arms wrapped around her.

            "You want to talk about it?" he asked in a whisper.

            She shook her head. She didn't know how to explain what she was feeling. She couldn't even figure out herself what she was feeling, even less tell it to someone else. So there was nothing to say. She looked up in the sky, not feeling like being watched anymore. Whatever Veronique was doing didn't involve watching them anymore. For now at least.

            "Wow... that was weird," Tidus suddenly said coming.

            Squall released Carole who turned to the blitzer.

            "Where did she take him?" he inquired.

            "Who knows... wherever it is, I hope he'll be alright."

            "Of course he won't be alright!" Rinoa suddenly cut in with a mad frown. "He's been taken by that crazy sorceress, who knows what she has in store for him!!"

            Tears of fury and fear were rolling down the sorceress' cheeks. Even with her powers, she couldn't stop Veronique from taking Adam from her.

            "First she scatters us around Spira, then she takes our friends away from us?" Dave said. "I had enough of this!"

            "What can we do?" Carole yelled. "I'm sick of this too, but do you think we can do, huh? We don't know where she is and we have no way to figure that out! She's stronger than Rinoa, so she can easily hide from us!"

            The girl realized she was going too far and calmed down, softening her features along.

            "Sorry, Rinoa. I'm just as worried as you are, maybe more than you think... I'm just as tired as you all are of her begavior towards us but..."

            She lowered her head. She wanted to say things were going to be alright, that everything would be fine and that they would all eventually go back home but she couldn't. She had this annoying feeling things were far from over.

            Squall stepped forward to say something but Tidus cut him.

            "You know, I heard you talk about her a few times and I saw her just now. She seemes indeed powerful enough to kill us all and since she didn't do it means she can't be all that bad, can she?"

            "What if she wants to drive us completely nuts until we kill each other?" Seifer asked a sarcastic way. "Maybe she'll be satisfied with that!"

            "Don't you ever have anything cheerful to say?" Quistis grounded.

            "Seifer is right..." Carole trailed off.

            The others turned silent and all looked at her. She raised her head with a determined look on her face.

            "So let's prove her wrong! Let's show her she can't mess with us and get away with it so easily!! We are going back home all together! Whatever she has in store for Adam, it can't involve death, she would have done it in front of us. I want to believe what Tidus said: she can't be all that bad! I want to go back home with everyone! So I'm no giving up!"

            "Yeah!" Tidus said pumping his fist. "That's the spirit!"

            The others nodded, cheered a bit by her little pep talk. Squall nodded approvingly. That's what they all needed: a light of hope. Just like her, he was hoping Veronique wasn't all that bad. From his personnal experiences, the Sorceresses he met all tried to kill them at sight except her (and Rinoa of course). Maybe she really only wanted to have a little fun. Who knows? Maybe she wanted friends but just didn't know how to make some! Maybe it was just wishful thinking...

            The gang entered back in the agency short on one companion. Seeing this, the others inside asked what happened. They heard the screams, but first thought about training so they didn't show up. They told them what happened and also what they were hoping for. Not much shared their optimism, but they were hopeful as well.

            "You saw her?" Auron asked Tidus.

            "Yeah, she really is weird, but depsite that she is very powerful, she doesn't seem that dangerous to me."

            "Oh, my!" Yuna said reaching for her mouth.

            "Don't worry, Yuna," Carole reassured her. "She didn't even pay attention to him. It's us she wants."

            _I wish she'd get tired of messing with us and leave us alone... Adam, I hope you're alright, wherever you are..._

            "I hope your friend's fine, ya?"

            "I'm sure he is," Dave said with a smile. "He's my cousin after all! A bit dumb, but not the kind to be had by a girl like her."

            Rinoa joined her hands, sending a silent prayer to her boyfriend.

            "I think we should leave," Lulu said sharing their fears. "Maybe you can find him again on the way."

            "Yeah!" Tidus exclaimed. "What if she felt like sending him somewhere else on Spira for you to run after him again?"

            "We wouldn't be that lucky," Zell said.

            "Let's go, we don't have any time to lose!" Squall urged.

            "Do we have to?" Rikku asked in a little voice.

            "You can stay here if you want," Auron said a bit coldly. 

            Rikku frowned and kicked the ground hard.

            "No way!"

            "Let me get Kerry and tell her everything," Carole said heading for the hall.

            As she was walking to the room where her friend was resting, she lost her fake smile she put on earlier and recalled Veronique's words from earlier.

            _It burns, doesn't it?_

            "How does she know about it?" she asked herself outloud. "What is she trying to tell me?"

            The tone that echoed in her mind wasn't an evil tone or even a teasing one. It was a simple question, an inquirement. What was she trying to say to her?

            "I want to know... What is it that you know, Veronique that I don't?"

            She opened the door to get Kerry ready for departure.

            Veronique was facing her sphere in which she could see everything. She managed to keep looking without being noticed. She just stopped looking at their thoughts which was enough to hide her from them. She had her arms folded and lost that grin she usually wore.

            "I might tell you... eventually... Meanwhile, I'll play dress up!"

            She spun around and took on a childish smile.

            "What do you say, Adam? Want to try something new on?"

            The guy's eyes were empty, like a zombie's. He wouldn't answer so Veronique hopped.

            "I'll take that as a yes! Alright, let's get started!"

            She got closer to him, rubbing her hands together.


	16. Chapter 15: Fighting a Friend

**Chapter 15 : Fighting a Friend**

****

            The thunder got thinner behind the group. It faded slowly then disappeared completely as they set foot in a strange forest. It was dark but also lighted by some unknown material around them. The place was filled with sparkles and the air seemed blue for some reason. Even though their minds were full of worries from the loss of their friend and the uncertainty of his well-being at the hands of the Sorceress, they couldn't help stare at the scenery.

            "Wow..." Kerry trailed off. "It's so pretty!"

            "It is..." Carole answered next to the young girl.

            She lowered her head. She felt so helpless, she hated that. She felt like she could have done something to avoid the kidnapping of her friend. And those words Veronique said only for her to hear before she disappeared with him: '_It burns, doesn't it?' _ She still didn't figure out what she meant exactly or how she knew that. Yes, there was something burning inside her. What was it? Fear? Hatred? She didn't have a clue. She was a bit frightened by that fire inside, but she tried her best not to let it show. Although she was trying to keep her feelings for herself, there was someone she couldn't hide anything from. When he saw her face, he saw the concern right away. He slowed down so that she would do the same without even noticing just to stay next to him. Kerry looked at him and he nodded for her to keep going. She could guess he had something to say to his girlfriend and she wouldn't disturb them so she walked faster to join the rest of the gang.

            "What is it?" he asked with a 'I'm-not-taking-'nothing'-for an answer' tone.

            "Huh?" she asked turning her head to him. "Sorry, I was thinking about something."

            "That was pretty obvious, I want to know what you were thinking about."

            She lowered her head.

            "Sorry..."

            They stopped at the same time. Squall turned to her and put a hand on his hip, staring at her. She kept her head down and reached for the griever still hanging around her neck.

            "What?" he asked in a soft tone.

            "I don't know yet... I can't tell you if I don't know..."

            "You don't know what? Are you taking yourself responsible for Adam being kidnapped?"

            She looked up to him with wide eyes. He smiled. 

            "You always do that. When something goes wrong, you always take the burden saying 'it's my fault'."

            "Please, don't!" a voice cut in.

            Both turned towards the way the group went and they saw Rinoa standing in front of them, Dave and Quistis standing behind her in some kind of moral support.

            "Rinoa..." Carole started.

            "Don't take yourself responsible, please! I don't want you to! Of all the people, I should have been able to get even with her but..."

            "Come on, Rinoa!" Squall said. "With Adam as a hostage, there was nothing any of us could do, so let's stop this."

            "She's not gonna kill him," Carole assured. "I know she won't do it."

            "How can you be so sure?" Rinoa asked, willing to believe it as much as she did.

            "She had plenty of occasions to kill us in the past," Dave said. "If she was planning to kill us, she would have done it before. As twisted as she is, she would have killed him right in front of us, too..."

            Rinoa grabbed her necklace, bringing a smile of nostalgia to Squall's face. She kept that habit even after they broke up. He shook his head and turned to the one he was in love with at the moment. The one whom he knew would never leave his side. 

Quistis elbowed Dave in the ribs for speaking so bluntly.

"Yes," Rinoa said. "You must be right."

"Hey! What are you all doing over there?" Tidus called from farther ahead. "We're losing time!"

"Sorry, we're coming!" Squall replied waving back before turning to his friends. "Well, shall we?"

They all nodded and started walking. Squall bit his lip a moment with uncertainty and went to Rinoa. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up to him with a bit of surprise.

"We'll get him back. We managed to meet all together on this world, we'll find him. She must have something in store for him..."

"For all of us as well... Thanks, Squall. I appreciate it."

She had a smile as he nodded and went after Carole who caught up with Kerry.

"You sure have changed, Squall. I'm glad to see it's for the best."

After she voiced her thoughts to no one in particular, she followed. Yes, he has changed. He was more talkative, he cared a lot more about other people's problems. Was it because of her? Because they broke up or because he was going out with another girl? Maybe all this was responsible for his changes. They say you can only come out stronger of difficult times. If that was true, they would all come out a lot stronger of this thing.

It seemed they were in Macalania Woods. They were walking on tree trunks or roots going all around the place. Monsters were wandering around as well, waiting for unfortunate travellers to come by. None of them was of any trouble for them. If Yuna's guardians ever met trouble, the SeeDs and their friends would lend a helping hand. Carole was always allowing Kerry to finish the monsters off since she would get the most of it. The roads were often going up, down and in circles. It was confusing, but they couldn't get lost as long as they would follow the road.

"Yo! Where are we heading like that?" Zell inquired after another fight with a monster called Chimera.

"On the other side of these woods is Lake Macalania where we'll find Macalania Temple."

"That's where Seymour went, isn't it?" Rachel inquired putting away her axe.

"Yes," Yuna answered.

"Are we there yet?" Zelll inquired. "These woods are making me dizzy!"

"We're not far," Auron said. "Keep going."

They got off the roots things at last to step on some solid ground. Most were relieved of this but as they stepped forward to reach the other side of the woods where the air suddenly seemed to get colder, Auron stopped. He looked at a messy bunch of roots and branches entertwined on the side of the road.

"It's here," he said.

"What's here?" Tidus asked placing his arms behind his head. "There's nothing here, let's keep going."

"Wait. It won't take long."

He took out his sword and started slashing a way through the branches.

"What's he doing?" Seifer asked. "He's the one always pushing us to keep going and now he wants to run an errand?"

"I never saw him like that," Tidus said. "This must be important I guess..."

Once the way was cleared, Auron stepped forward.

"Come."

Tidus shrugged and went after him along with Yuna and her remaining guardians.

"Should we go too?" Irvine asked turning to his leader.

Everyone was looking at Squall and Carole, waiting for an answer.

"I don't think it's any of our business," Squall said. "We can wait."

They nodded and some took advantage of this stop to sit down.

Tidus stared in amazement at the scenery. He was standing in front of a big tree in the middle of a pond. Pyreflies were flying around, making this place really pretty.

"Why is it glowing like that? It's just normal water, right?" Tidus asked.

"This is what spheres are made off. It keeps the memories of people inside for others to see."

Something started boiling in the water and formed a giant ball of water. It looked like a monster ready to attack.

"Of course, fiends are also attracted to this place," Auron said taking his sword out.

They all took their weapons out and stood ready to fight this elemental shifting monster.

The sound of battle caused Carole to look the way her friends left. She got up and the others did the same.

"Sounds like trouble!" Dave said.

"Let's go!" Squall told.

They all hurried towards the place when a lightning bolt struck in front of them, blocking the way. Irvine and Selphie being the firsts were blown backwards.

"Irvine! Selphie!" Squall exclaimed seeing them being pushed on their backs.

He hurried to see if they were alright when they got up. 

"I'm fine, it was just the wind," Selphie noticed.

"Yeah, the lightning didn't touch us."

"Where did that come from? I thought we were far from the Thunder Plains!" Audrey said.

There was smoke where the bolt struck. It was thick. Carole was staring at it then frowned as she took her gunblade out.

"What is it?" Squall asked.

"Watch out. This wasn't just a bolt of lightning..."

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

Used to do what her instructor did, Kerry took her own weapons out and watched at the smoke carefully. It started clearing out so everyone held their breaths. A faint figure started to show up.

"Already?" Carole whispered. 

She stood up straight and frowned.

"I thought you would have needed more time!" she said louder.

"Oh, no," some of the others said in the same tone.

They all knew only too well who it was.

The figure waved a hand out and the smoke was cleared, revealing Veronique.

"I already had plenty," she said with a smirk. "Now I want to play."

Rinoa broke through the gang to the front where Squall and Carole had to team up to stop her.

"Where did you take Adam? Give him back right now or I'll..."

"You'll do what? Kill me? Even if you could, then you would never see him again!"

"Calm down," Squall whispered. "It won't do Adam any good if we get killed!"

Rinoa stopped trying to get to Veronique but she didn't lose her angry face.

"What do you want?" Carole asked.

"I just wanted to show you my new friend, that's all!" she said with a smile.

"New... friend?"

Many feared they knew what she meant without actually saying it.

"Wanna see?" she asked.

Not waiting for an answer, she raised her hand.

"Come out, come out!"

A figure appeared behind her. It looked large although it looked human. It was standing in shadows so Veronique moved aside and allowed the man to come forward. He had short black hair held up in smalll spikes and was wearing a robe of some sorts. It was red and black and he had paint on his face. He also had armored arms and he was holding a strange shapped staff.

"Who?" Zell started.

"No way..." Carole trailed off.

"Adam?" Rinoa asked in an almost inaudible voice.

The face was the same except it was now twisted with madness. The eyes were empty although he was frowning. No doubt, it was him.

"What did you do to him?"

Veronique walked to him and started floating to get a bit over him. She placed an arm on his shoulder and her hand on his chin.

"Isn't he nice? It was pretty easy to brainwash him. Much better than before, don't you think? He looks more manly that way!"

"You brainwashed him?" Rinoa exclaimed.

"It was very easy! Now he's all mine..."

She closened her face to his and he wrapped his free arm around her waist.

"Stop that! Let him go!" Carole said.

"Oh, but he doesn't want to! You wanna leave me, Adam, dear?"

"No..."

"See?"

She was smiling tauntingly. Carole frowned and bared her teeth.

"Why you!!"

"I'm tired of all this chit-chat! Get rid of them!" she told Adam waving her arm out as she jumped aside.

"It will be my pleasure..."

He swung his staff back, causing the others to stand on guard when a glowing circle appeared under him. He waved it around in some kind of dance.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"That's... a summonning?!?!" Carole exclaimed.

"It's impossible!" Rachel replied. "That's not how we summon back home!"

"But that's how they summon here... Oh, Hyne, no..." Carole trailed off.

A shadow appeared over their heads and something came through the trees and landed in front of Adam, forcing the others to step back a little. It looked like Valefor but something was wrong with it. It was black and purple with red glowing eyes.

"What is that?" Rinoa asked.

"You see, on Spira, summoners have a long way to go to get powerful and strong," Veronique explained. "I didn't have that much time to waste so I urged the things up a bit. I forced some Aeons into him."

"So they can't be real, right? Like what you did with the fake Squall?" Rinoa inquired. "They're illusions?"

"Why not find out for yourselves?" Veronique asked with a mysterious smile.

"That's fine with me!" Carole exclaimed dashing the dark Aeon.

"No, wait!" Squall warned.

Carole remained deaf to this warning and jumped to slash the Aeon. It lowered its head and flapped its wings. The wind it produced was so strong she was literally blown up in the air with a scream of surprise as she dropped her gunblade. She was hit by a strong fire spell when she reached the ground.

"Aaaarrgh!!" she yelled.

"C-chan!"

"Where did that come from?" Rachel asked taking a quick look around.

"I think that was him," Selphie said pointing to the flaming dark creature standing next to Valefor.

"Two of them? At the same time?" Dave exclaimed.

It was Ifrit although a much darker red colored with smoke coming out its nose.

Squall hurried to Carole seeing she seemed to have trouble getting up. Her clothes were smoking from the fire shot. Kerry hurried to her as well.

"You alright?" he inquired with much concern.

"Augh... damn, they're... strong..."

"Cure!" Kerry called as she casted the spell on her friend.

Once the refreshing light has past, Carole was feeling much better.

"Thanks, K-chan."

The girl smiled widely, proud of herself.

"They're no illusions, alright. Come to think of it, that fake Squall was pretty real too..."

Adam held his staff forward.

"Destroy them!" he ordered with a mad face.

The two Aeons dashed the small group who had a move backwards.

"He's gonna kill us all!" Seifer exclaimed taking his Hyperion out.

"Do we stand a chance?" Zell wondered outloud.

"They're not the real thing, they're even worst!" Carole told. "Somehow, I think their abilities were enhanced! Even if we defeat them, Adam will probably dismiss them and replace them!"

 "You got it!" Veronique exclaimed, bursting out into an evil laughter. "They're not the real thing so if you manage to defeat them, I can replace them indefinately!"

"We're doomed..." Seifer let out still taking his weapon out.

Valefor took off and flapped its wings towards the group. On an impulse, Carole hurried to the front line. She recalled what happened during operation Mi'ihen. She didn't know if she had anything to do with it, but she remembered that after she did that, everyone was saved from Sin's deadly attack. She wanted to believe that it could happen again, whatever happened.

She crossed her arms in front of her face.

"Get out of there, Carole!" Squall called.

Not moving, the girl was keeping her eyes shut.

_Please, let this happen again!_

Valefor's wind attack hit. Whatever happened during operation Mi'ihen didn't happen a second time. She took most of the wind blow, sending her high into the air while the others managed to stay on their feet. This time, Squall got ready to catch her back.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed with a smile when he caught her.

Not wasting a single moment, Ifrit jumped in the air and opened its mouth. Smoke came out of it until a huge fireball formed in front of him. That fireball had nothing to do with that baby fire spell it unleashed on her previously. They would not be able to take this blow without damage. Some of them, maybe, but...

Carole looked at Kerry, staring at the fireball being formed over her head. She would never make it. The SeeD freed herself from her lover's grip and hurried to Kerry.

"Carole!" Squall called when he saw her run.

The fireball was thrown and Carole jumped. She grabbed Kerry and pressed her on the ground, shielding her with her body. 

_This will hurt a lot, but it will be less painful than watching Kerry die!_

She held on Kerry tightly and shut her eyes. The younger girl held her back, scared as hell. Expecting the powerful hot attack, she did feel something warm but it didn't hit her, it envelopped her. She opened her eyes and noticed it was Squall.

"I won't stand back, let me try and protect you both..." he whispered.

The fireball hit the ground with incredible force, causing it to shake all over. Screams were heard in the air from all around. The heat wave was almost unbearable. It was hot, it was burning, it was painful. Kerry and Carole screamed simultaneously from both fear and pain even though they were both protected. 

Pieces of stone and burning grass fell around when it stopped. Luckily, the Aeons stopped or they would have killed them all. There was smoke all around as well, making it hard to see farther than in front of them.

Carole raised her head and coughed from the smoke.

"You okay, K-chan?" she inquired with concern.

"Y... yeah," the girl answered coughing as well. 

Then Carole widened her eyes, thinking about the reason both her and Kerry were unharmed: Squall who protected them both. She gently pushed him aside and looked at him.

"Squall? You okay? Squall!"

He was breathing alright but he was uncounscious. Probably due to the extreme heat he endured.

Carole lowered her head and frowned, clenching her teeth and her fists. She got up and looked around. Everyone seemed in pretty bad shape. At least, everyone seemed alive, some were crawling around, inquiring at each other if they were alright, others were moaning with pain or coughing.

She spun her head towards Adam. The smoke has been cleared so she could see his perfectly expressionless face. He didn't care at all.

Taking her gunblade back, she walked to him, slowly. Rather to his Aeons standing in front of him.

"No one can hurt my friends and get away with it, even if it's you, Adam!" she said in a low but angry tone.

"C-chan!" Kerry called.

Carole waved her arm out the same way Squall did often in the past.

"Stay right there!" she commanded.

Startled by the imperative tone, Kerry didn't move. The SeeD stopped some distance from the two threatening Aeons, although they would not attack without their master's command.

"I know I don't stand a chance against them, but since they obey you, if I take you out, they'll vanish, right?" she asked Adam even though she knew he would not answer.

"No!" Rinoa screamed behind. "Don't hurt him, please!"

"I have no choice, Rinoa. I would do the same if it was Squall for I know he'd do it if it was me..."

"Hahahahaha!!! Don't make me laugh!" Veronique exclaimed, very amused. "You will never be able to do it!"

"If I must, I will. I know he doesn't really want to hurt us... He's doing it because he's being forced to do it."

Veronique lost her amused smile and frowned with curiosity, a bit surprised.

"You would hurt, even kill your friend?" 

"I'd rather not, but if my other friends are threatened, I'll do it."

The sorceress didn't know how to react for once. She wasn't expecting this, she didn't think anyone would even have the guts to try. Then she remembered the Aeons were stilll standing guard between her and her pet so she put on a wide smile.

"You really think you'll be able to get past the Aeons to get to him?"

Carole looked at the overpowerful Aeons. No, she wouldn't be able to do it. She got a few shots of their strength and she knew she was no match.

"No..." she said.

"But I can!" a voice cut in.

"What?" Veronique exclaimed trying to see where it was coming from.

A thunder spell cracked and landed right on Adam's head. Something flashed in his eyes and he collapsed. His strange clothes disappeared and were replaced for his usual ones. His hair remained as it was as a summoner's for Veronique really cut and dyed it. The fake Aeons vanished without a trace with Adam's fall.

Carole looked to the hole in the trees where Yuna and the others have gone to and saw them all standing there. Lulu lowered her arm she had raised to cast the thunder spell. Carole dropped her gunblade and collapsed on her knees, her palms on the ground.

"Carole!" Tidus exclaimed hurrying to her.

"Shit! I completely forgot about them!" Veronique cursed between her teeth. "How stupid..."

Yuna and her other Guardians came between Veronique and the others, weapons out. Suddenly, the sorceress looked uneasy.

"So you are the one responsible for their troubles," Auron said with a smirk.

            "Go away! Leave them alone!" Rikku exclaimed brandishing her clawed arm.

            Veronique was avoiding their eyes but was sometimes peeking at one of them. One that looked a little like her, that had the same hair. Wakka was holding his ball with a frown, thinking this girl's face was familiar. When he realized in a flash who it was, he widened his eyes and dropped his ball, standing straight.

            "V... Veronique?" he asked.

            She brought her head to look at him while everyone else turned to him, wondering how he knew her name.

            "Hey, it's been a while, hasn't it? I was hoping I'd never see you again..."

            Something was strange. Her voice was not as cold or evil as it usually sounded. She sounded shy and even a bit scared, maybe.

            "So it was true, you are responsible for this, ya? I thought you were dead!"

            "You thought I was or you wish I was?" she asked in a scream. 

            She coughed up a bit, calming herself down.

            "I'm not done, yet... I will be back..."

            She spun around and faded.

            "Wait!" Wakka called holding out his hand to nothingness.

            Veronique was gone. With no more threat around, Yuna and her guardians went around to attend to their friends' wounds. A hand on her back, Tidus looked at Carole's face.

            "You hurt?"

            "No, it was just too much all of a sudden. I'm alright."

            The blitzer nodded with a little smile. Carole got up and hurried to Squall who was slowly coming back to his senses. He grabbed his head and shut his eyes.

            "Ow... Heh... sorry about that, Carole. I guess it was just a little too much."

            "As long as you're alright, that's all that matters."

            With some quick healing, everyone was back on their feet except for Adam, taken care of by Rinoa of course. His brainwashin must have been a lot so it would take him little time to wake up. That was enough to talk about some new things.

            "Wakka, you mind telling us how come you know Veronique?"

            "Come to think of it, I think I know her too," Lulu said turning to Wakka. 

            Yuna looked at them both and thought about it. That face was familiar but she couldn't tell where she saw her before.

            With everyone turned to him waiting for explanations, Wakka felt uneasy and turned around. He never thought he'd have to talk about all this.

            "That girl, Veronique, ya? She's my sister..."

            "Huh?"

            Lulu nodded and Yuna's face lightened up, suddenly remembering as well.

            "Your sister?" Rachel exclaimed.

            "Maybe you can tell us why the hell she's after us, then?" Zell asked cracking his knuckles.

            "Wait just a sec!" Tidus interfered. "I thought you only had a brother!"

            "She is a bit younger than Chappu was. Few years after she was born, our parents got killed by Sin, ya? Since she was a little girl, she showed strange abilities. She could see the past, sometimes the future, she could travel wherever she wanted in a flash, ya? We were freaked out!"

            "I can understand that," Rinoa said in a low voice.

            "One day, she predicted Chappu's death. I paniced, I thought she would cause his death so I chased her out of Besaid, never to come back. But Chappu died anyway and it was not her fault, it was Sin, ya? I forgot all about her, but I guess she didn't."

            "Great, just great!" Seifer exclaimed. "That's what she wants with us! She wants to make someone suffer to ease her own pain! So then all that is happening to us is your fault!"

            "Seifer, stop that!" Squall advised. "What's done is done. No one was seriously hurt this time again."

            "Not seriously hurt?!" Dave exclaimed. "We could have been killed!"

            "But we haven't!"

            Wakka looked sorry as he turned the way Veronique disappeared to.

            "Come on, Wakka!" Tidus tried to cheer him up. "It's not like you asked her to do this."

            "He's right," Carole approved. "Besides, we'll be a while without seeing her."

            "How do you know that?" Audrey asked.

            "I saw her face. It has been a few years since last time she saw Wakka face to face, I bet she has a lot on her mind right now, she'll have to think this through for a while."

            "Speaking of mind, how's Adam?" Dave inquired.

            Rinoa looked at her friends with a comforted smile.

            "He seems fine. That bolt brough him back to his senses but I don't think he'll remember what happened once he wakes up."

            "Good, I don't think he'd want to remember," Carole supposed.

            "He'll ask anyway so we might as well tell him," Dave assured.

            "You're probably right."

            As if he heard, Adam moaned and opened his eyes. He shook his head several times and sat up. Everyone sat down or crouched to his level.

            "My head is buzzing like I was shocked or something..."

            "How clever," Dave trailed off rolling his eyes.

            He looked around with surprise.

            "Hey, where are we? Weren't we in the Thunder Plains?"

            "What is the last thing you remember?" Rinoa asked.

            He thought about it a moment then he widened his eyes.

            "Veronique! Didn't she get me? What happened?"

            Then he seemed concerned.

            "I remember her saying that I would be useful, but... after that it goes black..."

            "She needed someone to do her dirty work in her place..." Zell hissed.

            "Huh? Did I do something bad?" Adam inquired getting worried.

            Rachel elbowed Zell in the ribs. 

            "Ow!"

            Carole looked at Auron.

            "Is there a place where we'll be able to rest and talk freely close by?" she asked.

            "Just outside the woods there's a travel agency. You could talk there."

            "Great, let's go."

            They all got up while Adam kept asking what happened and what he did.

            "That's true, she needed someone to do what she couldn't do herself..." she thought outloud.

            "You think so?" Squall asked.

            She jumped up, surprise to see he heard her.

            "Yeah... she isn't really evil she's just... I dunno but I'm sure... She's not a killer, that's why she didn't kill us herself."

            "I hope you're right," he replied wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders.

            She rested her head on his shoulder and he pressed hers a bit.

            Carole looked up and had a thought for Veronique.

            _Whatever you find, I know you'll let us know. Take your time._

            Veronique banged her fists on the ground once she was back to her lair. She was feeling an upcoming of an emotion she didn't like: sadness.

            "To come face to face with him... Dammit! Shit!"

            She punched the ground once more. She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth.

            "Ghhh... He can't even start imagine how I ever felt! He found Chappu's body last year, but shit, I saw him die!! And I couldn't stop it..."

            Something was stinging in her eyes. Something she thought had disappeared from her body a long time ago. She froze a moment and wiped the tears away.

            "Heh... I can cry... Me, the all mighty witch, bringer of misfortune... I'm definately gonna need time to sort this out... But then... True, I could never kill them... But then what? What do I do? Send them back home? Just like that? They could be useful for the upcoming threat... Besides, I still have to tell her... She will never find out by herself..."

            Veronique got up and realized what she was thinking about was nonsense. She shook her head.

            "Am I going crazy? What am I thinking about? Joining them?"

            She lowered her head and her features softened.

            "Even if I'd want to, they'd never allow it..."

            She spun around.

            "I really have to think this through... For a little while... They could use a break..."


	17. Chapter 16: Pursuit

****

Chapter 16 : Pursuit

For the first time in a long time, no one was talking as they finally left Macalania Woods behind to enter the frozen realm of Lake Macalania. It was amazing how the woods were protecting them from the coldness of this place. As they got closer to it, the temperature changed a lot, but it really became noticeable only once they stepped on the snow and felt the wind get through their bones. Most of them wrapped their arms around their shoulders for some minor protection.

"Hyne, it's freezing out here!" Rachel complained.

"How come we didn't see that coming?!" Irvine wondered. "It can't possibly turn cold all of a sudden, can it?"

"Keep walking, we're almost there," Auron said.

They could see the building not too far, facing the frozen lake so they hurried there. With her uniform, Kerry wasn't doing so bad even though it was still pretty cold outside but others were even less dressed than she was, like Selphie or Rachel. Carole usually wearing her sleeves rolled up decided that this was the perfect opportunity to roll them down. Kerry wanted to show her she was brave and tried to show that the weather wasn't getting to her.

Adam was still pretty uneasy. Even though the others assured everything was fine, he wanted to hear what happened, he wanted to know. He was feeling bad for some reason and he wanted to know why even though he had a feeling he did something bad. His haircut proved to him that something happened, that Veronique did something to him, the question was: what?

Wakka was walking with thoughts racing in his mind. He wasn't sure what to think or how to react in front of this matter. He thought he was an orphan, alone in this unfair world and he yet learned his sister he thought dead for some time was still alive. But he also remembered all she did. She kept scaring people, freaking them out with manifestations of her strange and unusual skills. It had nothing to do with simple magic some mages learn as they journey, she was born with those skills. She started predicting all kinds of bad things, never good things so he threw her out before others would. 

Lulu was walking by his side, understanding his dilemma. He faced it before when he decided to kick her out of Besaid. Would she even come back? For their foreign friends' sake, she was hoping she would since she was the only one able to send them back, but for other reasons, she was hoping she would stay out of their lives. It was a little too late for that, though, since she already reappeared. They all knew she was around and they all knew she wasn't done yet. The question wasn't a matter of 'if', but 'when'.

The gang finally arrived in front of the Travel Agency. For once, Wakka didn't say anything about it being an Al Bhed place. Next to the entrance was a guy they met on their way a few times, one of the chocobo knights. He was standing next to a chocobo. Seeing the bird, Kerry lightened up. She really liked those huge birds. She walked up to it and when the guy saw her, he turned around.

"Oh, hi! It's been a while," he said waving at the group.

"What are you doing here?" Tidus asked him.

"The captain left me behind again," he answered with a sigh.

"Kweh!" the chocobo did.

Kerry raised her hand shyly.

"Oh, you want me to scratch you," Clasko said as the chocobo extended its neck.

He scratched him and nodded at Kerry who did along with a smile.

"How did you know what it wanted?" Tidus asked, pretty amazed.

"I can always tell what they want from the noise they make. I think this girl here can do it too."

"Y... yeah, I can understand."

"Heeeeey, maybe I'd make a better chocobo breeder than chocobo knight! Say, what do you see me doing?"

"If you like chocobos this much and can understand them fine, you should be a breeder," Carole said next to Tidus.

"My thoughts exactly," he added.

"You're right! From now on, I'll be a chocobo breeder!"

"We might see you again, then."

"Sure! If we meet again, I'll show you my chocobos," he told Kerry with a smile.

"I…I'd love to."

"You coming?" Rikku came and asked. "The others are all inside."

"Gotta go," Tidus said. "See ya!"

The few who remained outside despite the cold hurried inside where they could feel a nice warmth wrapping around them. They eased up with sighs. The place was pretty small for all of them to stand there but for a moment, it would do. Adam couldn't wait anymore.

"Come on, it sucks, you guys! It's like there's a part of my mind missing!"

"Are you ready to hear it?" Carole asked her old friend.

"Yeah!" Adam assured even though he wasn't completely convinced.

"Alright."

She started talking about him being brainwashed and turned into a summoner who almost killed them all because Veronique couldn't find it in her to do it herself. The others were sometimes adding details about pain and stuff which could have been avoided. Once they were done, Adam collapsed on his knees, shocked. The fact that he almost killed them all was nothing compared to the fact that it could have been avoided. He should have fought back, he should have tried but he only remembered blacking out all of a sudden, not little by little.

He didn't know what to say although he knew he should at least try and say something. He looked up to Carole.

"You would really... have killed me?"

"I don't know," she answered with a smile. "I wanted to try and bluff her, but... yeah, I'd have tried, at least... But I'm glad I didn't have to. Anyway, she was right, there's no way I could have past those Aeons!"

"Who got me back to my senses?"

"That was Lulu," Tidus answered moving aside for him to see her on the other side of the room.

Adam got up and went to her.

"Well, thanks, then. I'm glad you helped me."

"I wouldn't have done it if I wouldn't have heard her say you were the source. Since we missed most of what happened, we didn't understand much."

"I'm still very grateful and I'm sorry for the trouble," he added turning to everyone else.

He scratched the back of his head, feeling pretty bad about all this.

"I'm so sorry... I don't know how to apologise..."

Carole went to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, holding tight.

"Don't go depressed on us, now, you hear? It was not your fault, get it in your head!"

"But... I hurt you all, even you..."

"No, Veronique did. You were controlling those Aeons, but she was controlling you, so stop it okay? Let's forget about all this!"

"I agree," Rinoa said giving a hug to her boyfriend.

"It will be hard to forget it completely with his new hair style," Rachel said pointing at Adam's head.

He rubbed the top of his head, still not used to this cut. He smiled.

"I think it's cool. I kept my hair long for too long and I wanted to change it anyway. Unless you don't like it, Rin?"

"I don't care how you look. If you like it, it's fine with me."

They talked a little more while Wakka was staying in his corner, Lulu next to him. Squall decided to try and reach out to him.

"Hey, you okay?" he inquired.

Wakka looked at him with surprise for he didn't see or hear him coming.

"Oh, sorry. I'm fine."

"I can tell you have trouble with... all this and... I know we're not from Spira, but please, can you consider us friends instead of travelling companions? If you have something on your mind bothering you, don't hesitate, okay?"

Wakka looked back at the SeeD, a bit surprised. He wasn't expecting him to give him this kind of talk. He thought of Squall as the silent and cold type more than the caring guy. He nodded.

"Sure. You're all pretty nice, ya? And strong. I don't know what my sister has in store for you and I apologise for the trouble she caused. I feel partly responsible, ya?"

"I don't think so. You thought about the threat she could be to others. She wanted to make someone pay, and we happened to be the perfect prey. We should focus on what we have to do."

"Right!" Carole approved coming close to them. "If she doesn't just zap us all back home, I hope we can stay here long enough to help as much as we can!"

She turned around and all her friends nodded with a smile of confidence.

"Thank you," Yuna said bowing in front of them.

Selphie was so cold that Irvine took off his coat and placed it over her. She was so small that she nearly disappeared under it.

"You can rest here a while," Auron told. "Then we'll leave for Macalania Temple."

"Where we should find Maester Seymour," Yuna added.

Few saw the disgusted face Tidus put on a moment before faking ignorance when Wakka turned to him. Those who saw chuckled a bit.

They couldn't rest a very long time. They were afraid to miss Seymour would they wait around too much. They would just have to do with the weather. Like the thunder of the Thunder Plains would never stop, the ice of Macalania would never melt.

The group left the Travel Agency and came upon Tromell. When he placed his eyes on Yuna, he seemed pleased.

"Lady Yuna, we've been expecting you. We were surprised you decided to come so soon. Pleasantly surprised, of course," he added with a smile.

He joined his long hands together on his front.

"Lord Seymour sends his apologies for having left without notice," he apologised with a bow.

"It's quite alright. I have one question, if I may, sir," Yuna started joining her hands on her skirt.

"My Lady?"

"I want to keep journeying even if I marry. Do you think Maester Seymour would let me?"

"But of course, my lady," Tromell assured joyfully. "Lord Seymour wishes nothing else, I'm sure."

Yuna turned around and smiled with a nod to her companions.

"Goodbye," she said.

She went up to Tromell then turned around to her friends again.

"Well..." Tromell started. "We must follow Guado tradition. I'll have to ask you to wait here a little while longer. I'll send someone to escort you."

They were ready to leave, but Yuna was hesitating.

"I..." she started.

"We're all with you," Auron reassured. "Do as you will."

"Thank you."

Yuna turned back to follow Tromell.

"Sorry," Auron said to Tidus next to him.

The blitzer turned to him.

"Hmm?'

"That was your line.

Tidus made a few quick steps towards them and raised his hand.

"Yuna!" he called before he whistled with his fingers in his mouth. 

Yuna turned around to him with a light laugh.

"Yessir!" she answered with a smile.

Tidus traced her leaving. For the SeeDs, something was fishy.

"Why would she marry a guy and keep travelling?" Rachel wondered.

"Why doesn't the guy mind, I wonder," Carole added, thoughtful.

She had a headache for a while that suddenly got a little more painful so she brought a hand to her forehead with a moan. She was used to having headaches so she didn't really care but Squall turned to her with concern.

"You okay?" he inquired in a low tone.

"Yeah, I must be tired. It always hurts when I am."

She looked up to him and the face he showed her was the one of someone who didn't believe her.

"What? I always have headaches!"

She was annoyed he couldn't just let this pass. It was just a headache after all, why worry? But this headache wasn't a normal one, she knew it. A headache never used to make her feel warm in snow. She tried not to show she wasn't freezing anymore but she had a feeling Squall already knew. He always knew.

A sudden noise and scream got the attention of the gang getting ready to go.

"Oh, no!" Rikku exclaimed.

"Al Bhed!" Wakka exclaimed looking the way Yuna and Tromell went.

The Guardians all ran down a slope to catch up with Yuna and Tromell, being encircled by a group of Al Bhed riding Machinas that could slip on the ice. The SeeDs all looked at each other and silently agreed to help. They all ran down along and gathered around Yuna and Tromell to protect them.

"Stand back," Auron said.

"Thank you," Tromell said with relief.

He took Yuna's hand to lead her away and keep going but she freed herself and went back to her friends.

"Lady Yuna!"

She was going to fight along, like she always did.

Everyone was standing ready to face the Al Bhed when they suddenly went away.

"Rikku!" a voice called.

The girl and everyone else turned to the way where the voice came from and saw an Al Bhed standing on a snowy hill. 

"Tuh'd ehdanvana un oui kad drec!" he said.

A huge machina came rolling up the hill. A cannon rolled up and it was heavily armed.

"Ouin bnaleuic magics yht Aeons yna caymat!"

"Oh no!" Rikku exclaimed with fear.

"Translation?" Tidus inquired turning to her.

"He's gonna use an anti-magic field on us!"

"We'll have to do this by hand then!" Zell said punching the air.

"Kad dras!" the Al Bhed ordered showing the group.

Lulu and Yuna stood back when it came rolling down the hill. Something small came out of it and floated around. At that moment, everyone felt like they were under a silence spell but they could still talk. Only their magics have been sealed.

Wakka, Irvine, Adam and Rinoa took it into them to attack the flying thing which was the reason for the anti-magic field. Meanwhile, the others went for the big thing with a little surprise. Tidus was the first one to attack and he didn't have the time to avoid a tackle from the machina. He was thrown on his back.

"Ugh!"

"Are you alright?" Yuna inquired.

Tidus got up with a little twist on his face but he was fine.

"Yeah... Hey, watch it guys, it can counterattack!"

His warning came just a moment after Zell got tackled too.

"Ouch! Thanks for the info, but couldn't you have said it a second sooner?!"

Quistis cracked her whip at the machina and was quick enough to evade the attack. 

The negator was brought down, along with the anti-magic field.

"Lu! Cast your spells, now!" Wakka said.

Lulu started casting spells on it. Rinoa tried a few as well while the others kept attacking and being counterattacked. Sometimes, the machina was showing out machine-guns and shooting at them. Luckily, no one got badly hurt. With the anti-magic field gone, Yuna could cure and she was doing it full time.

The machina started boosting something up, gathering power.

"Mana beam ready in: 3," it said with a mechanical voice.

"What's a mana beam?" Kerry asked.

"I don't know, but I don't think it's good for us!" Carole answered.

"I agree, everyone, get back!" Yuna commanded.

Wondering what she was preparing, they all obeyed and got behind Yuna. She started dancing and Valefor came through the clouds. The Aeon flapped it's wings, ready to obey it's master.

"Mana beam ready in: 2."

"Attack!" Yuna said.

Valefor attacked and the machina tackled it hard.

"Mana beam ready in: 1..."

"Shield!" Yuna called referring to the Aeon's special ability.

A green shield of light appeared in front of Valefor and vanished, but it was there. Just in time! The Machina's main cannon started spinning while the rest of it started showing sparks. A huge beam of white light appeared and past through Valefor but thanks to its shield, it was saved. Or else, it would have been dead.

"Wow!" Dave exclaimed. "Lucky we didn't get that!"

"Dismissed!" Yuna said and the Aeon left.

A new anti-magic thing came out from the machina so the mages were once again left behind. When the shooters started aiming at it, Squall stopped them.

"Wait! This mana beam is a magic beam! If the anti-magic field is on, it can't fire!"

"You sure about that?" Auron asked a bit sceptical.

"Why not? Why only ours should be stopped?"

"I'm taking the risk!" Tidus said.

"K-chan, you stay behind me, just in case."

"No way! I'm fighting!"

"Let's go then!" Auron said.

The fighters all went to the machina while the new countdown for the mana beam came. When it reached 0, everyone held their breath and... nothing came, it worked.

"Stupid machina," Wakka said in disgust. "They sealed their own magic too!"

"Great!" Zell said. "Let's finish this thing off!"

Even though the mages were left out, the machina was down in a matter of time. It exploded in quantity of electric sparks and then it was silent again.

"My Lady!" Tromell called with relief.

Yuna and him left again, for real this time.

"Rikku!" 

From top of the hill, the Al Bhed who gave the warning earlier came back.

"E femm damm vydran!" he said in a warning tone.

"E ys dra guardian uv Yuna, oui caa?" Rikku replied to everyone's surprise. "Yuna ec cyva! Fa femm kiynt ran! Cra ec cyva!"

"Oui tu drec ymusa, cecdan."

He left and everyone looked at Rikku for explanation.

"I told him I was a guardian," she said scratching her cheek in a shy way. "Well, guess I had to, really."

"How come you speak Al Bhed?" Wakka asked her, turning to Tidus and Lulu. "Why?"

"Uh, well, uh..." Tidus babbled.

"Because I'm Al Bhed and that... was my brother," Rikku answered with her head down.

Wakka turned to Lulu with a frown.

"You knew?"

Lulu nodded along with Tidus.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"We knew you'd be uspet."

"This is great." Wakka said turning back to Rikku. "I can't believe I've been travelling with an Al Bhed! A heathen!"

"You're wrong! We have nothing against Yevon."

"But you Al Bhed use the forbidden machina! You know what that means? Sin was born because people used machina!"

"You got proof? Show me proof?" she challenged putting a hand on her hip.

"It's in Yevon's teachings!" Wakka answered folding his arms. "Not that you'd know!"

"That's not good enough! Yevon says this, Yevon says that. Can't you think for yourself?"

"Well, then you tell me! Where did Sin come from, huh?"

"I... I don't know!"

"Hmph! You bad-mouth Yevon and that's all you can come up with?"

"But... that doesn't mean you should do whatever they say without thinking! Nothing will ever change that way!"

"I have to agree with her on that point," Dave whispered.

Carole turned to him and frowned madly. This was no time for a new argument about beliefs.

"Nothing has to change!" Wakka assured.

"You want Sin to keep coming back? There must be a way to stop it, you know!"

"Sin will be gone when we atone for our past mistakes!"

"When? How?" Rikku asked waving her arm out.

"If we keep faith in Yevon's teachings, it will be gone someday!"

Few annoyed sighs were heard amongst the SeeDs.

"Why do I even bother?" Rikku asked herself outloud.

"Rikku," Auron interrupted.

"Hm?" she did looking towards him.

"Will this move?" Auron asked showing one of the machinas left behind by the Al Bhed.

"Yes!" she exclaimed running to it.

"We're not using that, are we?" Wakka inquired with disgust. "Wait... Sir Auron isn't Al Bhed too, is he?"

"Come on, Wakka..." Tidus tried.

"What?"

"I mean, getting angry just because you found out Rikku's an Al Bhed... You guys got along fine 'till now, didn't you?"

"That's different, I mean..."

"Well, I don't claim to know much about Spira. And I know probably even less about the Al Bhed, but... I know Rikku's a good person. She's just Rikku!"

Wakka was a bit confused so he turned to Lulu for help.

"Lu?"

"Just think of this as an opportunity to learn more about the Al Bhed."

"Ha!"

Wakka spun around and left by foot towards the temple. Tidus made a move to follow him, but Auron stopped him.

"Let him go. Give him time to think."

Rikku got up and wiped her forehead after taking a look at the machina. She turned to Tidus a sorry face.

"I'm sorry."

"You've done nothing to apologise for," Lulu assured.

"All right, let's ride!" Tidus exclaimed a cheerful way to ease things up.

Kimahri went for one that was turned upside down and turned it back the right way.

"Are there enough for everyone?" Rinoa inquired. "I can walk if there are not enough."

There were five machinas around the place. With Wakka gone and Yuna probably already at the temple, there were still 18 of them so there were not enough machinas, for sure. They were long enough for three people to sit on them if they'd get real close to each other. Tidus went for one.

"You sure you know how to drive this?" Rikku asked him.

Kimahri sat on the one he turned back and looked around. He also noticed there were not enough for everyone but he also knew he was the biggest one so he could only take one person with him. Kerry saw him look at everyone. She was a bit unsure and he saw her.

"Kerry can come with Kimahri if she wants to."

She jumped up with surprise. She didn't realise he knew her name. She turned to Carole like she was waiting for an approval.

"Do what you want, K-chan," she said with a smile for courage.

"You should take him up on his offer," Lulu said. "It doesn't happen very often that Kimahri would talk and even less invite someone with him."

"Really?"

She made a few shy steps to Kimahri. She liked animals, but she knew Kimahri wasn't really an animal. She tried to think of him as someone form another race, which was the exact case. Maybe that's why Kimahri invited her too. Maybe since he knew she liked animals and monsters, he thought she wouldn't be scared of him too much. She nodded and Kimahri let her climb in front of him. He sat down behind her carefully to drive on the road. Kerry smiled and waved at the others when the machina started moving.

"See you there!" she said.

"I'm sure I can drive better than Kimahri does," Tidus said with an amused smile.

"At least, I think she's enjoying herself," Carole said with a giggle.

"You coming?" Tidus called.

He took seat on a machina and invited her along.

"Sure!" 

She went to sit behind him and Squall traced her.

"Hey, there's enough room, hop on too!" Tidus invited him along.

Squall climbed behind his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing himself against her. She giggled when she pressed herself against Tidus as well.

"You okay?" she inquired with a laugh.

Tidus coughed to clear his throat. 

"Hum... y... yeah, sure..."

But he was blushing. He quickly hid it from the two, but Squall frowned. He spread his leg a little and kicked Tidus on his leg.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Just drive, okay?" he told him.

"Alright, alright...  
Rikku took command of another and shared it with Lulu and Auron. Zell decided to drive one, to Rachel's horror. Selphie and Irvine decided to walk not to freeze from not moving and when Adam, Rinoa and Dave shared the last one, Seifer decided to go by foot too. He thought it would be less risky than climbing with Zell. Audrey wanted to follow Seifer too. Since Rachel and Zell still had room for another one, Quistis hesitated. Dave climbed down and went to her. He had an idea. He told her to take his place and went to Rachel and Zell. Then he pushed Zell behind.

"I drive," he stated.

"Hey!" Zell complained.

Rachel couldn't help but sigh with relief. Zell wasn't really the right guy for this. His idea of getting something to work was to slam it hard until it would.

The machinas were started in very few noises. They were quite quiet. The riders waved at there walking friends.

"We'll meet you there!" Carole said.

They waved back and were soon out of sight.

"Well, Wakka sure doesn't really like Al Bhed," Carole stated.

"I think it's because of his brother. Because he fought with a machina weapon, you know."

"Then he was killed by Sin?" Squall asked.

"Yeah... killed by my old man. Damn you, Jecht..."

"What do you mean your old man?" Carole asked.

"Huh... um... you think you can keep a secret?"

"Sure!"

_Everyone trusts me with secrets these days..._

"Auron said Sin is my dad, but I'm not sure what it means."

"Wow, how can this be?"

"He didn't say anymore and since I don't know much about this place..."

"Anyway, I don't get why Wakka sulks at Rikku now," Squall said.

"Lulu had a point, he knows it. He will come around, he just need time."

Carole rested her aching head against Tidus' back. The earlier battle didn't help one bit.

"Hey, what do you think of Rikku?"

"I don't care at all that she is an Al Bhed. After all, Yuna is half one too..."

Then she bit her lip, that was a secret she was supposed to keep too.

"I kinda knew. I didn't think someone could have two eyes of different colour just like that... That explains it."

There was a short silence where Squall tightened his grip around Carole's waist. He knew she wasn't feeling well, but he also knew she didn't want to talk about it so he just tried to show her he was there if she needed him.

"Hey, that Veronique is pretty twisted, huh?"

"You tell me!" Squall said. "She caused lots of trouble even before I arrived!"

"She caused you some trouble as well," Carole said. "But still..."

"What?" Tidus inquired.

"I think she needs a chance, that's all."

"A chance?"

"She makes me think of a little girl even though she looks grown up. She grew up alone so..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Squall said sincerely.

"You think she'll send you back home?" Tidus asked a bit worried.

"Not too soon, I hope!" Carole said with a smile looking at him. "It's not like we're in a hurry. I don't want to speak for the others, but I want to see this to the end! I want to see Yuna defeat Sin!"

"Yeah, me too... even though I don't really know how I'll go back, then. If Sin is killed... I mean, that's how I came here..."

"Oh, so you really want to go back?" Carole asked a teasing way. "I thought you'd want to stay with Yuna."

"Wh... what are you talking about?"

"Hey, are you blushing?"

"No, I'm not!"

Carole giggled and Squall smiled. He didn't have anything to worry about. He didn't have any experience about family relationship for he didn't have anyone to call brother or sister, but he could still tell that what Tidus and Carole were doing was close to that. Like they understood each other just fine. He couldn't help but still feel a little jealous. Even more when he saw Tidus blush when Carole pressed herself against him. Well, he couldn't blame him for he knew what she looked like. Suddenly, Squall felt hot himself and he lowered his head in case she would turn around and see him blush. Even though he knew there was nothing to be ashamed of, he also knew it wasn't the right time for these kind of thoughts.

The entrance of the temple came in sight, along with Kimahri and Kerry waiting there with Wakka. Kerry waved at them when she caught sight of them.

"Hey!" she called.

Carole moved her head aside to see and waved back.

"K-chan!"

Tidus stopped the machina next to Kimahri's and they came down, waiting for the others.

Rikku, Lulu and Auron arrived soon after, followed with Dave, Rachel and Zell, then Adam, Rinoa and Quistis showed up. When they came down, they looked at the others.

"We saw the others, they're not far," Rinoa said.

"We can wait a little longer, right?" Carole asked looking at Wakka.

He was looking away, apparently still lost in thoughts.

Now that they stopped moving, they started getting cold again. The ones wearing less were holding their shoulders and stepping from one foot to the other like they were dancing some weird dance.

Finally, Irvine, Selphie, Seifer and Audrey appeared and ran the last few meters separating them from their friends.

"Let's go," Auron said.

Everyone gladly followed him inside but didn't meet any warmth. They entered through an underground entrance, expecting to enter the temple, but instead, they ended up on a bridge of ice leading a way around a building that was the temple. It was still cold and the SeeDs were getting annoyed.

"Can't it get warmer anywhere?" Rachel asked blowing in her hands to warm them a little.

They walked along the small bridge of ice, all paying attention not to fall.

"So, K-chan, how was your ride with Kimahri?"

"He didn't say a thing but I could tell he was concerned about Yuna."

"I don't blame him... I don't like this either..."

They finally reached the real entrance. It was guarded by a priest and when the group ran to the entrance, eager to get away from the bridge of ice, the priest blocked the way from Rikku.

"Halt! The likes of her are not allowed in this hallowed place."

"She is a guardian," Auron told.

The priest turned to him with a mix of surprise and disgust on his face.

"An Al Bhed, a guardian? Preposterous!"

"I've decided to be Yuna's guardian now," Rikku said with a serious face. "And that's all I want."

"And that's all one needs to be a guardian," Auron added as he walked past the priest to enter the temple.

"Very well," the priest gave in reluctantly.

The group hurried inside except for Wakka who prayed before he went in. He thought that Auron was right on the point. Yes, it didn't matter that Rikku was an Al Bhed if she wanted to be Yuna's guardian. So he went in after them.

As they entered, they were surprised to see so many people inside. Tromell was standing next to the entrance as well, but no sign of Yuna.

"Ah, Lady Yuna's guardians!" he said a happy way. "I haven't thanked you for your help earlier. Thanks to you, I was able to bring Lady Yuna here safely. You have my sincerest gratitude."

He started looking for something in his pockets.

"It... isn't much but I want you to have this," he said handing them a shell targe.

It was a protection gear for Rikku so she took it with a thanks.

One person came through the crowd and faced Tidus. It was the one he saw in Guadosalam who told him Seymour was off to the temple.

"There you are!" she exclaimed with a smile. "Maester Seymour and Lady Yuna... I couldn't be happier... even if it was my own wedding. Now victims of Sin will have something to be joyful about."

"Yeah, I guess so," Tidus answered putting his arms behind his head.

Not many thought it was joyful, though.

"You're not happy?" she asked with an elbow in a hand and her cheek held in her other hand.

"Nah, it's complicated," Tidus replied folding his arms.

He walked a few steps further in and looked around.

"Say... hum... Do you know where Yuna is?"

Shelinda turned to him.

"I believe... she's gone to the Cloister of Trials with Maester Seymour."

The guardians headed for the steps leading to the Cloister but the SeeDs hesitated. They never followed before but they new only Summoners and guardians were allowed in.

"You can come too," Auron assured. "You are also guardians, after all."

"What?" everyone asked with surprise looking at Carole and Squall. "Since when?"

"Don't ask me! Let's just go!"

They went for the stairs when a woman suddenly bursted out of a side room in fear.

"Lord Jyscal!" she exclaimed with fear. "A sphere in Lady Yuna's belongings..."

She dropped on her knees from the shock while the others, alerted, hurried to the room she just came out of.

"Lord Jyscal?" Selphie asked. "Isn't that..."

"The guy we saw in Guadosalam?" Irvine continued.

"Seymour's father!" Seifer recalled.

Everyone hurried inside the room, but since it was a small room, not everyone could fit in, so some remained in the door frame. Tidus was holding the sphere, everyone staring at him, waiting in expectation and suspense. What was in it?

"This may well answer a few questions," Auron stated.

Tidus placed the sphere on the floor and turned it on. The image of an old Guado the gang recognised as Jyscal, former Maester and Seymour's father, appeared. Selphie tried to move to the front to see, mimicked by Kerry.

"What I am about to tell you is the unclouded truth," the figure started. "I swear it on my honour as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell the truth about my son, Seymour. His mind is closed even to me, a maester of Yevon. But I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado, and even the summoners. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira. I will leave this world soon, killed by my own son. But I do not fault him. Because I was note wise enough, he has suffered, and become twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and its cruelty. I will accept death as my punishment for my deeds. But whoever is watching this, I implore you to stop Seymour! Stop my son."

The image faded, leaving everyone in shock.

"He... killed his own father?" Audrey whispered.

"Wonderful," Auron let out.

At last, they knew, but was it too late? 

"Will Yuna be all right?" Rikku inquired getting worried.

"Without us, no," Auron answered as he left.

Kimahri left after him, eager to be with Yuna again and protect her from the evil of Seymour.

"Where you goin'?" Wakka asked.

Rikku hurried outside as well while Tidus turned to Wakka.

"You saw, didn't you? Seymour's bad news!"

"Yeah, we must help lady Yuna!" Kerry exclaimed.

"But he's a maester!" Wakka objected.

"Fine!" Tidus exclaimed, annoyed. "Stay here if you want!"

"Stupid holy crap..." Dave trailed off.

Carole granted him a don't-even-start frown.

"Come on, Wakka," Lulu said. "Let's at least hear him out."

She left and the SeeDs decided to go along.

"This can't be happening," Wakka said in despair seeing everyone was going against a maester.

Him and Tidus left quickly but when they made it to the stairs leading to the cloister, a priest was on his back next to it. He seemed scared for some reason.

"The Ronso, he... Bevelle will hear about this!"

Tidus and others couldn't help but smile. Just don't stand in Kimahri's way if Yuna is in trouble! Nothing else matters to him.

"Let's hurry!" Squall urged.

"Right!"

They all climbed the stairs. So many people entering the cloister brought interrogation to the priests and other people inside the temple but none dared to ask anything seeing their weapons hanging on their belts or back in Adam's case.

On the other side of the door, they were surprised to find themselves surrounded by thick ice walls. The floor was made of ice as well. There was just a corridor with a door on the end.

"Kimahri's up ahead," Auron said when Tidus came to him. "Go."

"Right!" Tidus answered raising a fist.

The others followed but Wakka was walking a bit slowly, still uncomfortable with this situation.

"We will protect Yuna from anyone," Auron told him when he past by. "Even a maester."

Wakka let out an uneasy laugh.

"This can't be happening."

"If he is truly at fault," Lulu cut in, "it must be done."

Auron went on ahead and caught up with the SeeD leaders.

"I have a favor to ask."

"Let me guess," Carole started putting a fist on her hip. "You want us to stay out of this."

"I just want you not to get into trouble. If we must confront him, some people won't like this and will go after us. I wouldn't want to add anymore trouble on your shoulders."

"Oh?" Carole started with a smile. "In the beginning, you didn't want us to 'interfere', now you don't want to cause us trouble? Listen, wise guy, we came with you not only because we think Veronique will keep chasing us, but because we care!"

"She's right," Squall added. "Since Veronique is the only one who can send us back home, we could have just waited around for her to show up, but we can't just leave you!"

"If we can help, we will! Just to say that we're not here just to please her, might as well get ourselves useful!"

Auron had a smile behind his high collar.

"Do you youngsters actually like to fight?"

"To protect someone, we have to," Squall said turning to Carole. "The one that needs protection now, is Yuna. You said we were guardians as well earlier, well guardians protect the summoner! We're not gonna stand back and watch you fight alone!"

To close the conversation, Squall went down the hall after his friends and through the door.

"He's stubborn, huh?" Auron asked.

"Of course he is! He dates me!"

Carole went after him and Auron followed.

The group entered a circular room with a small stairway on the other end leading to the chamber of the fayth. Seymour was standing on top of these stairs, facing the chamber, and two Guado guards were standing down it each side of it.

Tidus came in running and braked in the middle of the room.

"Seymour!" he called.

"Please, be silent," Seymour asked not turning around. "Lady Yuna prays to the fayth."

"Make me!" Tidus challenged waving his arm out.

He was standing in the front with the other guardians behind him in circle with Kimahri holding his spear, ready for battle. The SeeDs and their friends stayed behind a bit. If it could be avoided, they wouldn't jump in.

Seymour turned around, showing a nasty smile and came downstairs, his eyes on Tidus who didn't flinch, frowning angrily.

The door of the chamber opened behind Seymour, causing him to turn around as Yuna walked out. All eyes were on her. 

"Yuna!" Tidus called.

"But why...?" she asked with a frown seeing everyone was there.

"We saw Jyscal's sphere," Tidus answered.

"You killed him," Auron accused Seymour.

"What of it?" Seymour asked, still facing his back on everyone. "Lady Yuna, certainly you knew of these things, did you not?"

She nodded and went downstairs to join her friends.

"Well, then, why have you come here?"

She was facing her back on his as she built up resolution.

"I came..." she started before turning around. "I came to stop you!"

"So that's it," Rachel whispered.

"Did she really think she could take him on herself?" Adam asked. "We saw what he could do during operation thing..."

"Shh!" Squall commanded.

"I see, you came to punish me, then."

He turned around and walked to Yuna, slowly, a mysterious look on his face. Yuna frowned, her hands held at chest level, uneasy. Seymour held his hand out to her. Yuna looked back at it with a frown, then walked backwards to her friends. Seymour showed an amused smile.

"What a pity."

Kimahri stepped in, frowning angrily with his spear in hands as Tidus and Auron jumped in front of Yuna to protect her, frowning at Seymour a challenging way. 

"Ah, of course. 'Protect the summoner even at the cost of one's life.' The Code of the Guardian. How admirable."

He raised a hand and the two Guado guards stepped forward. His annoying smile never left his face.

"Well, if you're offering your lives, I will have to take them."

"Maester Seymour!" Yuna interfered. "I trust my guardians with my life, but they're also my friends. I will not stand by and watch them be hurt."

She grabbed her staff in two hands, getting ready.

"I will fight you, too!"

"All right!" Tidus exclaimed.

The SeeDs nodded approvingly.

"Maester Seymour!" Wakka called in a small attempt to stop all this.

"So be it," Seymour finished with an evil face, ignoring Wakka.

The Guado guardians cast protect on themselves and Seymour cast a shell on himself.

"I knew you were bad news the first time we met!" Tidus said holding a firm grip on brotherhood.

"Oh! My sincerest apologies!" Seymour said sarcastically.

"Seymour!" Tidus exclaimed with anger.

"Good," Squall said. "He's getting boosted by his anger.

"As long as it doesn't blind him, he'll do fine," Seifer said.

"I don't know," Carole objected. "We must not take Seymour lightly."

"We must not interfere either," Squall advised. "They're fighting their faith here."

"You may be a maester, but I will still fight!" Yuna assured.

"Your eyes, they burn with resolve… beautiful," Seymour said, impressed.

"Maester! We must stop this!" Wakka exclaimed.

Once again, Seymour ignored him, which didn't help much.

"Argh! This can't be happening!" Wakka exclaimed once more.

The group first took care of the guardians who had the annoying habit of using potions every time someone was hit. Rikku just stole potions from them so they wouldn't use their ability anymore. Seymour kept attacking only with magic like watera. Once the fighters brought the guardians down, they went for Seymour, determined. Even Wakka when he saw Seymour use spells against Yuna. But as they kept attacking him, he suddenly changed face. 

"Feel my pain! Come, Anima!"

"Uh oh!" Carole said.   
"What?" Squall asked.

"Hey, isn't Anima that huge thing we saw in Luca that killed the monsters while we were busy with Veronique?" Dave asked.

A huge anchor came down from nowhere and sank in the ground. It indeed brought up that huge Aeon they saw in Luca. All wrapped up, and chained, Anima was one powerful foe. And scary too.

But the fighters were not giving up yet.

"Yuna!" Tidus called. "The new Aeon!"

"O fayth, lend me strength," Yuna prayed.

Everyone stepped back as she placed herself for summoning. Huge icicles dropped right behind her and a figure came down through it. In the ice, the figure took on a blue colour, revealing a female. She threw her arm back, breaking the ice and throwing a cape to Yuna which she caught. A cloth made of ice it seemed, but that couldn't melt.

"That looks like Shiva!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Much cuter that the one we know! Sexier too!" Irvine trailed off with a dumb smile.

"You can't help yourself, can't you?" Selphie asked getting mad.

Shiva attacked with kicks while Anima used his pain ability or simply built up for his overdrive to get ready. Shiva had a few nice tricks of her own. Like Ifrit, being an elemental Aeon had advantages. She could cast blizzara on herself to heal up. With all the damage she took from Anima, she could unleash her own overdrive: Diamond Dust! She spread ice around, then huge ice spears. She stood in front of that and snapped her fingers, breaking the ice in tiny little shards.

"Wow!" Kerry exclaimed.

"That's much more impressive than our own Shiva!" Zell said.

With her most powerful attack unleashed, Shiva was left defenceless, leaving Anima to attack her a few times. Yuna and her guardians grew nervous, wondering if she would get up quick enough to heal up or get killed. She managed to get up and a blizzara did the trick. With her defence down, she took much more damage from Anima's attacks, allowing her to use her overdrive once more. With this one, Anima went down. Seymour dismissed it, being of no more use to him.

"That power that defeated Anima, it will be mine!" he exclaimed like a mad man.

He cast a firaga spell on the Aeon. Defenceless from her overdrive, she was brought down, forcing the others back in the fight. Seymour started using an annoying ability: multiple casting. He could cast twice the same spell at a time which nearly wiped the whole team out, leaving Yuna no choice but to keep healing.

"Don't give up, guys…" Carole whispered. "You can do it…"

Her friends kept being brought down, Yuna couldn't take anymore and unleashed her own overdrive. It allowed any of her Aeons to use its own. She called on Ifrit to avenge the ice queen and the fire ability ended it. Seymour was brought to his knees, in pain while the others were catching their breath, feeling lucky to be even alive. The SeeDs breathed out. Some have been holding their breaths for a while.

Yuna hurried to him. The fallen maester looked up to her.

"Yuna… you would pity me now?"

He fell on his back and Yuna looked at him, feeling sad and deceived. She kneeled next to him and the others closened in. The SeeDs as well, when they realised it was over. He was dead. Yuna brought a hand to his face to close his lifeless eyes then lowered her head.

Everything was silent until the door to the room was slammed open, startling everyone, causing them to turn around.

"Lord Seymour!" Tromell exclaimed in fear.

He was accompanied with two more guardians and they came downstairs, in shock.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"What… what have I done?" Wakka asked himself with shame.

The three Guados went to Seymour while Tidus turned to Wakka.

"Wait a minute! It's not our fault at all! Seymour struck first! He's the bad guy!"

"Yeah!" Selphie added.

"What? They should have let him kill them?" Zell asked.

"You did this?" Tromell asked getting up from Seymour's side, ignoring the comments.

"Yuna. Send him," Auron told her turning around to leave.

"No, stop!" Tromell interfered with sorrow. "Stay away from him, traitors!"

The two Guado guardians took Seymour out of the room and Tromell followed them, closing the door behind him. Yuna fell on her knees and Wakka looked more devastated than ever.

"Traitors?" Yuna trailed off, in shock.

"We're finished," Wakka said.

"Now hold on just a minute!" Tidus started walking through everyone. "Seymour's the bad guy, right? We'll just explain everyone what happened!"

"It won't be that easy…" Auron said. "Let's get out of here."

Everyone agreed even though some had trouble just standing on their feet. Auron turned to the SeeDs who shared their trouble.

"Thanks for not interfering," he said.

"A little more, and we would have," Squall said. "You nearly didn't make it!"

"We're not out yet…"

"I don't think they'll let 'traitors' off so easily…" Carole said.

"We'll see."

The group past the door after the devastated guardians. The only one who didn't seem shocked was Kimahri. Yuna was safe, his own fate didn't matter much. 

Tidus was first in the icy corridor but as he made it almost out, the floor just disappeared under his feet, revealing a level under. He managed to jump backward before he'd fall.

"Whoa! Gimme a break!" he said scratching the back of his head.

"You all right?" Yuna inquired.

But another section of the floor disappeared, forcing him back again, forcing the others to do the same.

"Get back!" he exclaimed when he had to do a back flip when the last section gave way.

"How are we supposed to get out now?" Rachel asked.

A hole opened in the wall to the left, going down to the inferior level.

"Just great…" Tidus said. "We didn't have to solve the puzzle to get in, but we have to solve it to get out… just great!"

"Puzzle?" Kerry asked.

"The Cloister is a trick of mind," Lulu explained. "We must solve a puzzle to remake the bridge."

"A puzzle, huh?" Carole stated with a smile going down the way.

"Count me out," Adam said. "I'm no good with these."

"But I am, so I'll check it out!"

"Hurry, it's freezing!" Zell said.

Tidus, Squall and Carole went down to check the famous puzzle. It was a trick of putting spheres in slots to make the bridge reappear but it was hard. Two were needed underground and one up. The one to be used up was used for making the way underground, so logically, it was the last one to be used. Soon, the puzzle was solved and they could get through.

"There!" Carole exclaimed with a proud smile when she placed the last sphere in place.

"Good, let's go," Squall urged. "I don't like this place…"

The puzzle solved caused a flashing dot to appear on the floor of the corridor. With so many people around, someone accidentally stepped on it, causing a pillar used underground to hold a sphere to appear right next to the hole. It caused a section of the corridor to disappear again, nearly making people fall.

"Not again!" Audrey complained.

Tidus, Squall and Carole were not up yet and the pillar was blocking the way.

"Sorry!" Zell apologised.

"Can someone push it down?" Carole asked. "I'll do it again, just stay far from that thing!"

The pillar was pushed but it met a strange arrow pattern and flew through an icicle, taking a reddish sphere on instead of the blue one it held.

"Hey, Wakka, what does the red sphere do?" Squall asked

"It's a destruction sphere," he answered. "There should be a specific spot to put it in, that will liberate a glyph."

"What does it do?"

"I dunno…"

"Well, can't hurt to do it," Carole said. "It must be downstairs, there was a slot we didn't use…"

They had to start over again and finally, it was over. Everyone stood close to the wall to avoid stepping on the flashing device that would ruin everything again. They reached the door and climbed the stairs to leave. In the main room of the temple, they were expected. They came up face to face with a group of angry looking Guados, led by Tromell.

"I don't like this…" Dave said.

"Please…" Yuna begged walking to the old Guado.

"Give us a chance to explain," Auron asked.

"No need," Tromell replied, emotionless. "I already know what I'll tell the other maesters."

"Meaning?" Auron inquired getting suspicious.

"Lord Seymour was the leader of the Guado before becoming a maester," Tromell stated, formal.

Tidus walked to him.

"You're not letting us go," he understood with an angry frown.

"Even I could have noticed that…" Zell said.

"Let you go? Lord Seymour would never forgive us if we did."

"Wait, wait!" Rikku cut in getting nervous. "Jyscal's sphere! We can show it to them!"

"You mean this?" Tromell asked raising a sphere in the air out of Tidus' reach.

Everyone was horrified. They knew they were doomed. Even more when they saw the Guado crush the sphere in his hands.

"The Guado take care of Guado affairs," Tromell stated.

"What does it have to do with us?" Zell asked. "We didn't fight!"

"You were there, you are guardians as well, you are guilty of complicity."

"Dammit!"

"Away!" Kimahri roared swinging his spear around at the Guados.

"Run!" Auron called.

The gang pushed the Guados aside to make their way to the exit, leaving the temple.

"Stay close to me, K-chan!"

"Right behind you!"

"Let's go!" Squall commanded.

Everyone ran out like mad and could hear that they were followed. Of course, why would the Guado let them go just like that? 

"Not that bridge again!" Rachel complained looking at the long icy bridge spreading in front of them.

"You can stay here!" Tidus said running to it.

Rachel turned around and saw Guado guardians coming out of the temple.

"Maybe another day!" she said running along.

"Watch where you stand, don't fall down!" Auron warned.

"Gee, thanks for telling," Seifer said.

They ran as fast as they could but such a big bunch of people slowed down each other, while the Guados behind them were alone, with long legs to run fast.

Not paying much attention to where she was running, Rinoa tripped.

"Ow!" she exclaimed as she fell flat on the ice.

"Rin!" Adam called spinning around.

He took out an arrow and aimed for a Guado coming right at her when she turned her head in fear. He missed his target but it allowed Dave, Quistis and Squall to catch up to her and protect her from the enemy.

The Guado summoned fiends to fight with him.

"Whoa!" Dave exclaimed, surprised.

"Take them out!" Squall commanded as he went for the Guado. "Can someone help Rinoa?"

Carole came close and kneeled next to her.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah… my ankle is sore, but not too bad. I can walk."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Rinoa got up and Adam grabbed her for more reassurance. Even though she said her ankle was only sore, she had troubles standing on her foot. He took an arm around his neck and led her away.

"Keep going!" Quistis told. 

"We'll catch up!" Squall added to his girlfriend.

Carole nodded, knowing there was not much threat in these opponents, that the important thing now was to get out of there by any means possible.

"Let's go!" she said.

Those who had stopped to watch what happened nodded and started running again towards the exit. 

Once the enemy was disposed of, the fighters made a run for it once again. Another one was coming at them.

"Hurry!" Quistis said.

"This has no end, damn it!" Dave complained.

Tidus waited for them to pass him along with Wakka and Zell.

"Go, we'll take these!" Tidus said.

"Don't take too long," Squall told Zell.

"Don't waste time," he replied with a smile, raising his thumb.

Carole signalled Kerry to run ahead while she waited for Squall, taking a peek at the Guado summoning fiends once more to fight her friends.

"Don't stand there," Squall said. "Keep going!"

"They gonna be alright?"

"Of course, go!" Dave said.

Most of the gang made it to the stairs leading out of this place and waited a little for their friends. The fighters finally appeared through the hole and looked around.

"What are you still doing here?" Tidus asked with a frown.

"They still comin'!" Wakka told.

"Go!" Zell added.

"The machinas are gone!" Rikku exclaimed as she looked around.

"I guess it means more running," Auron concluded.

"Great…" Seifer trailed off.

"I… don't know if I can do it…" Selphie said in a small voice.

Everyone was tired and a bit worried. How long would they have to run like this? They didn't know, but it could be for a while. Kerry was panting and Adam was still holding Rinoa's arm around his neck.

"Wait a minute," Squall said walking to her.

He cast a float spell on her, so she didn't have to put all her weight on her feet.

"There."

"Why didn't I think about it? Thanks!"

Irvine took Selphie on his back. She laughed a bit, happy. She was so small, he was almost not feeling her weight on his back. 

"You okay, K-chan?"

"It's… all about endurance… I can take it…"

Kimahri went to the girl and threw her on his shoulders, causing the girl to let out a faint scream of surprise.

"I don't want to be a burden to you, sir Kimahri!" she said.

"Kimahri, big legs. Kimahri run fast. Kerry short legs, Kerry small so Kerry not slow Kimahri down."

"Thank you…" she said a bit shyly.

"Um, guys," Tidus said. "Sorry to interrupt but they're still coming!"

"Let's go!" Auron called.

Here goes more running. They had to cross by foot what they crossed with the machinas earlier which suddenly seemed to be very much longer. The SeeDs were focusing on their training, thinking that this was what they trained for all these years, that it was time to put it to the test. The others were mostly thinking about not being caught, feeling a boost of adrenaline rush to their heads and spread throughout their entire body.

By machina, they went straight for the temple earlier, but by foot, they met fiends on the way, quickly dealt with by the SeeDs leading the way so the others could save their strength for more running.

After what seemed like forever, they came out in the open of the lake where they fought the big machina earlier. The cold was causing breathing to be quite painful, but at least, all this running warmed them up a bit.

Two Guado came out behind them and a big yeti-like fiend jumped in between them. It was called a Wendigo, pretty different from the ones they had back home. All furry, white, with a blue face and fangs. It was also brandishing huge fists.

"The Guados first!" Squall called as everyone was getting ready to fight.

They were shot down from afar by Irvine, Adam, Wakka and Rinoa. One cast a berserk spell on it. Then, as they were killed, each cast protective spells on the fiend. One used a protect, the other a shell.

"Great, just great!" Dave complained.

With the berserk spell, the fiend was far more powerful. A single punch could send anyone down right away. Tidus was the one to get hit.

"Argh!' he screamed as he fell on his back.

Yuna widened her eyes and quickly cast a recovery spell on him while Carole and Squall stood between them and the fiend for protection. Tidus opened his eyes and Yuna sighed with relief.

"You okay? Squall inquired.

"Ow… that was painful…I thought I was gonna die."

"I thought you were for a minute!" Carole said smiling at him with relief. "Good job, Yuna!"

"This thing is too powerful!" Rachel screamed.

"I have an idea!" Wakka told.

He used one of his special skills which could actually blind the thing. He did it a second before the fiend went for Zell but blinded, the fiend missed by far.

"Cool!" Dave said with a smile. "Let's get it!"

Everyone slashed from everywhere. The fiend tried to attack, but it couldn't see a thing. With so many people around, it could sometimes make a lucky shot and hit someone, but so closely it was usually not doing much damage. Tidus ran to it with brotherhood in hands.

"That's for hitting me earlier, you big fat overgrown fur ball!"

He slashed, thus giving the final blow. The fiend started wavering on it's feet and everyone stood still, waiting with their weapons still held high. Suddenly, the fiend jumped up really high and landed so heavily, it caused the ice to crack and a huge hole appeared. With horror in their eyes, everyone was swallowed up in that hole, unable to prevent it or do anything except scream.

A female voice singing the hymn greeted the awakening of the people who fell in the hole, meaning everyone. Just for being alive, some thought that if they were followers of Yevon, they would have said 'Praise be to Yevon'. Most only thought 'Thank, Hyne!'.

Tidus got up, wondering what was in store next for them, which gave him a headache. Some had a headache just for falling. They were all scattered around. Kerry was waiting for her mentor's awakening. She avoided damage when Kimahri happened to grab her as they fell, along with Yuna of course. When she woke up, Kerry stiffened in expectation.

"Ow…"

"C-chan!" Kerry exclaimed jumping to Carole's neck.

The elder girl wrapped an arm around Kerry, glad to see her alright and looked around, rubbing the back of her head.

"Is everyone alright?" she inquired.

"Squall is over there," Kerry said pointing away.

Tidus went to Wakka to inquire about his well-being but all this against maesters and Yevon was getting to him seriously.

The SeeDs gathered in a corner of the place surrounded by ruins.

"Where the hell are we?" Zell asked looking around.

"We're under the lake ice, aren't we?" Lulu asked Tidus then.

"Who knows," he answered.

"Look," Lulu invited turning around.

The others did the same and saw a building hanging from the ceiling.

"That's the bottom of the temple."

A few sunrays were somehow passing through the ice to slightly light the place up, keeping them from total darkness. Some pyreflies were floating around them as well, giving a nice touch to their tricky situation. Lulu sighed.

"We've fallen a long way."

"It's a miracle we're all in one piece," Seifer said.

The guardians were in shock, finding themselves traitors who killed a maester. Auron was wondering what they were to do now. The Guado would not go as far as jump into that hole to pursue them so they were safe but for how long? Tidus told Auron that he had to be more responsible since they were all depending on him.

The SeeDs also had their worries.

"Do you think it was right to come with them?" Quistis wondered.

"What do you mean?" Squall inquired.

"Since we met them, we keep getting in trouble," Dave explained. "Now, we're considered accomplices of murder!"

Carole turned to him and frowned.

"If it hasn't been for them, you would still be sitting in Besaid, wondering where the others could be!"

"True!" Rachel added. "They kindly accepted that we tagged along! Wakka found out that the one who torments us is his sister he believed dead for years! We are in this all together, now!"

"I haven't been with them for as long as you guys have," Squall said. "But I know I don't intend to leave them down when they need help the most."

"Speaking of Veronique, don't you think she could strike now that we're exhausted and vulnerable?" Rinoa supposed, a bit worried.

"I don't think so," Carole reassured. "She would have already done it by now."

They went to find out how their unlucky friends were doing. They came on Tidus talking with Rikku.

"I'm sure Yunie's okay. She's breathing fine and all. How are Lulu and Wakka?" she inquired.

Yuna was resting on a structure aside, Kimahri guarding her. Rinoa, Quistis and Selphie went to her to see how she was.

"Well, Wakka's in shock. Can't blame him, either," Tidus told. "And Lulu, well, she's just the same as always."

"She's so together. All grown up, I guess."

"I guess."

"Well, just give me five or six more years," Rikku said with a teasing smile gesturing curves on her chest and tapping her behind.

"Wow, she will be a woman by that time!" Irvine exclaimed, dreaming.

"Irvy!"

"She already look nice to me!" Zell added with a wink at Rachel who folded her arms and frowned.

"She's just a kid!" Rachel exclaimed.

Tidus back stepped a little, uneasy and turned to Kimahri while the others were giggling in front of his awkwardness.

"So, Kimahri, how do we get out of here?"

The others had to move aside when Rikku tackled him, upset.

"Hey, don't change the subject!"

"We climb," Kimahri answered Tidus' question. 

"Kimahri too!" Rikku said upset.

The others giggled.

"Only those who try will become," Kimahri told.

"Huh?" Rikku asked, mimicked by others.

"I think he means you have to work hard if you want to be like Lulu," Tidus explained.

"Oh, I will!"

"Kimahri think, Rikku should stay Rikku," the Ronso said shaking his head.

"That's wise," Audrey thought outloud.

"Yeah, you shouldn't try to be someone else!" Adam added.

"Huh? Hey! Are you saying I'll never be like Lulu? Guys!"

The gang bursted out in laughter from Rikku's disappointed face.

"Come on, Rikku," Rachel said. "Everyone is different!"

"That's what makes us who we are!" Kerry added.

"How can you laugh at a time like this?" Wakka interrupted with anger, unable to believe these people.

Yuna sighed and turned on herself, waking up.

"Hey, she's awake!" Rinoa told.

"Yuna!" Tidus called feeling relieved.

The summoner got up and everyone gathered around her. They all waited for her to start explaining everything.

"Why did you go to Seymour like that?" one asked.

"You should have told us, we would have helped!"

"Yeah, the guy got on my nerves the first time I set my eyes on him!"

"He's such an evil man!"

"What the hell were you thinking?! You could have been killed!"

Yuna looked around everyone, wondering why she wanted to keep such good friends out of this.

"I wanted to confront Maester Seymour about his father, Lord Jyscal," she explained. "I wanted to convince him to turn himself in to Yevon's judgement."

"In exchange for marriage?" Lulu understood, shocked.

"Yes, if that's what it took."

"So, what did Seymour say?" Tidus inquired.

"He didn't say anything. Now… now I don't even think it was worth it," she said with regret. "I should have told you what I was going to do."

"You bet you should have!" Dave said.

"Enough!" Auron cut in sharply. "Dwelling in the past is futile."

"You're one to talk…" Carole trailed off, not sure why she said that.

"Hey!" Rikku exclaimed at Auron. "You don't have to say it like that!"

"You want to waste time, listening to her regrets?"

"It's better out than inside!" Carole replied to him with a frown.

"Hmph! Like you do maybe? You always keep everything for yourself!"

"Because I know my friends would be concerned. As a SeeD, we learn to keep our concerns and feelings inside not to mess with our battles but we don't all become heartless! When the opportunity shows up, we share everything!"

She turned to Yuna and gave a comforting smiled.

"Feel free to share everything you need with us and just ignore the cranky old fool!"

Tidus couldn't hide his wide smile when Auron turned around. About time someone put him in his place. He was the older one, but this didn't mean he could yell at whoever he pleased.

"It's not like we're in a hurry, anyway," Tidus said. "We don't even know how to get out of here!"

"Our immediate concern is Yuna's pilgrimage," Auron said to change the subject. "Are you willing to go on?"

Yuna looked at him.

"Yes," she answered with determination. "But then, do you think Yevon will allow it?"

"The fayth are the ones that give power to the summoners. Not the temple or the teachings. If the temple try to stop us," he started looking very serious, "then we will defy Yevon if we must."

"Whoa!" Tidus exclaimed with surprise.

"I can't believe you said that!" Rikku exclaimed.

"Yeah, screw Yevon!" Zell said raising a fist.

"Sir Auron!?" Lulu asked, shocked.

"Count me out," Wakka said folding his arms.

They already went way too far for his taste.

"We have to atone, to make up for the sins we have committed. Of course, it's not like I ever liked Maester Seymour, ya? No way I'll ever forgive him for killing Lord Jyscal, and trying to do us all in too, you know? But still, the bunch of us going against Yevon? No way!"

"You have a point," Squall said. "Lots of people worship Yevon, that would make us a lot of enemies!"

"Bring them all!" Zell exclaimed punching the air.

"Stop that, chicken-wuss!"

"Wh… what?!"

"But still, we have transgressed and must face our punishment," Lulu said.

"We must go to Bevelle," Yuna told looking at everyone. "We must speak with Maester Mika and explain what has happened. There is no other way, I think."

"I agree," Wakka said.

"I don't!" Carole cut. "It's like jumping in head first to death! For killing a maester, I don't think we'll get out of this with just a few bruises."

"My mind is made up," Yuna told her. "We defended ourselves from someone who wanted our lives, Maester Mika will understand. You have all been more than kind enough to come with us this far so if you want to go, I will understand."

"No way!" Adam exclaimed. "You won't make it anywhere without us!"

"Yeah! Booyaka, we came this far, let's keep going I say!"

"What you say, Sefie!"

Yuna smiled and bowed.

"Thank you, everyone."

"Besides, we can't just sit here and wait for Veronique to come at us," Carole said putting a fist on her hip. "Might as well do something useful in the meantime."

Wakka's face twisted when he heard the name but didn't say anything. He hasn't thought about his sister for a while with all they went through.

Yuna turned to Auron.

"Sir Auron…" she started.

"So it is decided."

"Will you come with us?" she asked placing her hands behind her back.

"I am the troublemaker, after all," he answered with an amused tone.

"Yeah, that's right!" Tidus exclaimed with a smile. "You can always count on Auron to complicate things!"

"Yeah!" Rikku approved to make up for earlier. "Kimahri roars, and Auron runs off, and…"  
"I never asked you to follow me," Auron replied.

"Hey, but that's what friends are for, right?" Tidus said.

"Yeah, no one asked us to follow, we just do it!" Rachel said.

"Yep!" Rikku said scratching her cheek a shy way.

Yuna nodded with a smile and walked in front of Tidus.

"Thank you."

"Huh?" the blitzer said scratching the back of his head.

"Friends, huh?" Rikku asked looking at the two.

Yuna nodded and Tidus laughed a little, uneasy.

"Man… How can you act like nothing's wrong?" Wakka asked. "Most got nerves of steel or somethin'."

"You're too edgy," Lulu said. "Listen to the hymn and calm down."

They scattered around for a while and closed their eyes, listening to the singing. It was really calming and for a while, nothing else could get to them it seemed.

"Who's that singing, anyway?" Zell asked.

"Is that coming from the temple?" Tidus asked.

"Yes, it is Yevon's gift," Yuna answered with a prayer. "It soothes the heart of the faithful."

She walked ahead.

"Say, does anyone feel something in the air?" Wakka inquired. "Some kind of bad vibes or something."

"Anyone could tell that," Seifer said.

"I feel it too," Kerry said.

"Yeah!" Tidus added.

"I thought so. I really feel weird."

"So, who is singing, anyway?" Zell asked once again.

"The fayth," Lulu answered.

"What?" Adam exclaimed. "It can sing?"

"Of course it can, don't be a fool."

She looked around then turned to the others again.

"Say, isn't the ground shaking?"

Rinoa's float just stopped being effective so she realised it was true. 

"Maybe it's because we're underground."

"Heh-heh…" Rikku said in her corner. "Friends, huh? First time a non-Al Bhed called me that."

"You got plenty of friends now!" Selphie exclaimed jumping up happily.

Kimahri said the air smelled different but he couldn't tell if it was good or bad. Although he felt no danger, so there shouldn't be any trouble.

Auron revealed Tidus that Jecht used to sing this song as well but not as good. Then Auron revealed he heard Tidus sing as well in the past, making him feel homesick. Tidus was a bit mad knowing his privacy was disturbed, but he understood the old man's feelings. Then a question came to his mind he was curious about for a while.

"Say," he started with a hand on his waist. "How'd you get to Zanarkand anyway? Sin?"

Some other were curious of that matter as well after hearing about the past so they listened.

Auron didn't say anything.

"Uh-huh, I thought so," Tidus said.

"Hey, Tidus came with Sin, right?" Squall asked Carole.

"Yeah?"

"So then, it's the link between here and his home. That means, if Sin is killed, he'll be stuck here forever."

"Oh!"

Carole turned to Tidus who was still standing next to Auron. It was easy to guess what he was thinking about just looking at his face. He was probably thinking the exact same thing than them.

"We should get moving soon," Auron told.

"Yeah, let's get outta here!" Seifer approved, this place is giving me the creeps!"

They gathered together and all could notice the ground shaking from time to time. Then they also noticed that everything was suddenly pretty quiet. 

"Hmm?" Rikku did.

"The singing stopped," Lulu stated.

Everyone looked around, feeling weird. Everything was silent all of a sudden. Then the ground started shaking once more, startling Yuna.

"There's something here!" Wakka said.

"The ground!" Auron told.

With horror, the gang realised they were standing right on Sin's back. 

"Sin!?" Yuna exclaimed.

"Oh my god!" Audrey exclaimed.

"I'm sacred!" Kerry let out pressing herself against Carole.

With fear, Rikku and Wakka stood back to back.

"The toxin! Watch out!" Lulu warned.

"Hold on!" Squall called.

Pyreflies surrounded them and floated about. Tidus looked at them. He could finally believe, for the first time, that Sin really was his father, he could feel it. He dropped on his behind.

"The song… you were listening, too," he said.

"Tidus!" Carole called seeing his lost face.

"Carole!" Squall called back when she ran to the blond guy.

Everything started spinning and everyone let out screams of fear. The screams faded.

"What is it this time?" Tidus wondered.

Everything turned a bright white. Then, Tidus could see an image of a blurry upside down Zanarkand. Like he was the one upside down, floating in the air.

"Zanarkand? Oh, you homesick too."

The scene switched for a couple of blitzballs on the floor.

"That's not your world anymore, you're Sin now."

Then he saw an image of himself as a kid, sat on a floor with his arms around his knees, facing him his back.

"Hey, I'm older now, you know?"

The young Tidus disappeared, making the older one feel weird. He was seeing all this like in a dream state. He had no control over anything.

An image of Jecht himself appeared, facing Tidus his back, looking up in despair maybe. Hard to tell since Tidus couldn't see his face. But he seemed to understand just what he was feeling.

"I know. You want this to end. I'll find a way. Promise."

Everything started spinning again and turned black. Where would he end up this time?

__

A/N: Sorry it took me so long, but seeing how long this chapter was, can you blame me? At the part where they get out of the travel agency, I started playing the game again and taking notes, so the dialogues are accurate. No more blanks about someone saying this or that! But I think I also made this a little weird doing that, what do you think? It's like Squall's gang didn't have much to do in this part… I could have cut it in two, but I thought it had to end here, and not sooner. The fight with Seymour… could have been more detailed, what do you say? Give me comments, please! It can only help improve this story! Look forward the next chapter, it should be this long, I'm sure… I think… Anyway, thanks for reading! So? Do you like it when the dialogues are the same?


	18. Chapter 17: Getting hot

****

Chapter 17: Getting hot

__

Ugh…

Carole opened an eye and closed it tight right away. A bright light blinded her for a moment. It was so hot… and she was soaking wet, she could feel her sticking hair on her face. She had water in her boots as well. _Just great…_

There was a weight over her. It reminded her of Squall's weight. She raised a trembling hand to her chest and felt wet hair. This hair didn't feel like Squall's. The head moved, startling her, but with that person on top of her, she couldn't move. She raised her hand up to her face to shield her painful eyes and opened one carefully. Her jacket was left opened so only her white top was plastered on her chest, with that head on top. 

She brought her head up and saw blond hair just as the head raised. Brown eyes met blue and widened.

"Get off me, Tidus!" she screamed.

"Whoa!" Tidus exclaimed rolling aside.

Carole got to her knees and closed her jacket, facing him her back.

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "I was unconscious, I…"

She got up and tried to brush sand off her clothes, but as long as it would be wet, it would be impossible.

"No, it's okay, I'm sorry, I overreacted."

She looked around and found her gunblade not far. The reason she had water in her boots was because her feet were in the water. They ended up next to a small and clear oasis of fresh water. She must have been washed to the shore along with Tidus, but how did he end up on top of her? Unsolved mystery.

She spun around and saw nothing but sand all over the place.

"Man, where are we?"

Tidus turned to the oasis.

_I forgive you, this time… Be good for a while, okay?_

He came to stand next to Carole, staring at the view along with her.

"Wow… a never-ending desert…"

The girl wiped some sweat from her forehead.

"And once more, I had to wear leather… I really picked the right clothes…"

Her hair was already dried but her clothes felt heavy. The squishy feeling in her boots was really uncomfortable so she sat down and took them off.

"Sorry, it shouldn't be long," she said. "You think you can take a look around, see if anyone is here?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered. "But I think Sin scattered us…"

He left to take a look around. Carole took her jacket off and made sure Tidus was gone to take her top off as well. She managed to find a spot where Tidus wouldn't see her directly if he'd come back before she was done. Her heart was still pounding from earlier. He really scared the hell out of her. 

She twisted her top to dry it out as best as she could when something started itching and the hair on the back of her head stood on edge. She had a light smile as she pretended she didn't feel anything. She kept twisting her cloth again a few times.

"How long you gonna stare at me like that?" she suddenly asked.

"Whoa!" Tidus' voice answered her.

It was followed with a thud and a painful groan.

She put her top back on and got up. She walked to the spot from which he spied on her and found him on his rear. She folded her arms and frowned at him. He gave her a sorry face and raised both his hands.

"Huh… I didn't find anyone…"

"You didn't go very far to find that…"

"Well… I… uh, um…"

He looked away, blushing. She bent over to him and he expected a slap but she smiled to his surprise.

"I'm honored someone like you who probably had all the women he wanted around him after each blitzball game find some interest in a boring girl like me."

She took her jacket over her shoulder and past him. He felt a cold shiver go up his spine.

_Wow… she's really mad at me!  
_She kept her frown on as she walked to the desert. Then she decided to take a look at her map, maybe it would tell her where they were. She took it out of her pocket but didn't bother unfolding it.

"Shoot…"

"What is it?" Tidus inquired taking advantage of this to gladly change the subject.

"It's soaking wet, it's no good anymore…"

She put the wet piece of paper back in her pocket and shrugged.

"Oh well, I get a pretty good idea. We must be very far from where we were. First we were surrounded with snow and ice, now we're in the middle of the desert!"

She was only hoping that only Sin had to do with their being scattered around and that Veronique didn't take advantage of the situation.

Carole went back to her spot and kneeled down to check her boots. She was completely ignoring Tidus and he could tell the air was heavy and not only because it was hot. There was an uneasy feeling in the air he wanted to clear as fast as he could.

As she took one of her boots and turned it up to check the inside, he came behind her, scratching the back of his head, uneasy.

"It's burning, thanks to it being black… but the inside is still a little wet… either I wait longer or I bear with it and I'll walk in them squishing… I hate that… It didn't do this in Besaid! guess I wasn't in the water long enough, then. I wonder how long I was out, here."

She was talking to herself, not paying any attention to the awkward guy standing right behind her. He was feeling bad.

"Hum, I… uh…"

_Man, why is it so hard?_

"I… I'm sorry," he said bowing to her back.

She slightly turned her head and saw him. Then she turned her head back. 

"Why…?" She asked.

Tidus rise up noticing there was deception in her tone. Then he remembered she nearly got raped not that long ago, it must still have been on her mind.

"I was an ass… I shouldn't have peeked. When I got back and I saw you, I couldn't look elsewhere. Didn't mean to be rude, honestly!"

He dropped on his knees behind her.

"I didn't want to bring you back any painful memories. You can hit me, if you want."

He lowered his head and shut his eyes tight, waiting. He heard her turning around so he gritted his teeth in expectation. Instead, he felt her arms wrap around his neck and she held on tight.

"Wh… what?"

"Sorry, I overreacted once again… After all, you only saw my back, right? It's nothing."

Tidus was uneasy once more.

"Are we going to look for the others?"

She held on like she didn't even hear him. Then she let go and lowered her head.

"You know, when I asked you how long you were gonna stare at me, I knew you were there for a little while."

She looked up to him and smiled at his confused expression.

"How come?"

She tapped her head.

"Training. We are warriors, so we have to know when someone tries to come up on us by surprise."

"Oh, I see."

She turned around to look at her boots once more and decided they were alright now. She put one on and grimaced.

"It's burning!"

Then she put the other on and got up, dancing from one feet to the other, causing Tidus to laugh a little.

"It's not funny! How come your clothes aren't wet?"

"Hey, I play an underwater sport, remember?" he said pumping his fist. "It's made for water so it doesn't get wet, water just roles down on it."

"Lucky you."

She shook her head a little and sent her hair back. Then she grabbed her gunblade, placed it against her hip as usual and started leaving.

"You… you're not putting your jacket back on?" Tidus inquired.

She turned to him, arching an eyebrow.  
"Why? It's too hot! If I didn't have to keep my pants on, I'd take them off too!"

Then she frowned and walked back to him with an amused smile.

"Do I make you uneasy?" she asked.

Tidus' eyes wandered to her top then he quickly turned his head away and blushed.

"No, not at all!"

"You're blushing?!"

"No way!"

She burst out in laughter seeing the distress on his face.

"So you really were spying on me, then? Explain to me how come I make you uneasy."

She folded her arms and watched his face.

"Well, uh… you don't wear too much on top for starters…"

"Yeah, right… Lulu's dress is more revealing than my top!"

"Uh… right…"

He scratched the back of his head and looked at her. Their eyes met and locked, causing Carole to suddenly go uneasy.

_Wh… what's going on? _She wondered.

They didn't blink once. Finally, Carole broke away, facing him her back, she reached out for her chest with wide eyes. Her heart was pounding. Last time her heart was like that was when she first showed her new outfit to Squall and he accidentally tripped and fell on top of her. They were not going out at that time, but her eyes were already set on him. 

_Am I… moved by him?_

He placed his hands on her shoulders, causing her to stiffen and start.

"It's weird, but… I think I'm…" he started.

She shut her eyes and shook him off her shoulders.

"No!" she exclaimed.

She turned back to him. Big mistake. He looked so sweet and his eyes were so nice on her. He made a step forward and she made a step backward. 

"I… I know it's wrong but… I can't help myself…"

_I'm… I'm falling… Squall, help me! I don't want to do this!_

She shut her eyes and did the only thing that came to her mind: she took out her gunblade and pointed it at Tidus.

"If you make a single step ahead, I… I'll kill you!"

He stared at her, in shock. He slowly raised his hands.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you…"

"Stay away!"

Her sight got blurry and everything went crazy. She shook her head to get rid of this.

__

What's happening?

"Come back," a voice echoed in front of her. "You can fight it!"

It was Tidus' voice but why did he sound so weird all of a sudden?

She opened her eyes and saw him standing in front of her, but he didn't look all sweet anymore. He looked highly concerned instead and a bit scared. Carole looked around in confusion.

"What? What happened?"

What just happened felt like it wasn't real now that she thought about it. She looked at her hands holding her gunblade, then at Tidus, an arm resting against his side and the other one held out to her. His unarmored arm was the one resting against his side and she noticed a small pool of blood forming on the sand right at his feet, under his arm. She looked up to his arm and saw a little cut in it. Widening her eyes in horror, she looked at her gunblade and there were a few drops of blood on the tip. She dropped it.

"Oh, my god! What did I do?"

Tidus smiled with relief. He didn't seem that much in pain.

"You alright, now?" he asked.

"What… what do you mean 'now'?"

"I think the toxin got to you. You sounded like you were hallucinating."

"Hallucinating?"

_So it wasn't real? I imagined all that?_

"They say the toxin has all kinds of effect on different people. Since you are not from Spira, I guess it's normal it got this effect on you."

He dropped on his knees. The wound wasn't bad but he was relieved to see her back to normal. She kneeled down as well.

"I… I hurt you?"

"I tried to stop you but you only pointed it at me. It's pointy, that's for sure…"

He was smiling. She was wondering how come he could be smiling like that.

"Were you with me the whole time?"

"Yeah, pretty much but I thought you were acting a little weird. I went to check if any of the others was around, but since I was worried, I came back. You were acting strange so I tried to get to you."

"Did I say… something weird?"

"A few. It's like everything I told you was transformed into your mind and you understood something else. You were scared of me for some reason."

"No, I think I was afraid of myself… I thought you were making a move on me."

"Oh, no wonder you were so scared! After what happened to you before, I can't blame you."

"It doesn't excuse me taking my weapon out on you!"

"But you got over it, didn't you?"

She was so ashamed, she could have yelled. Taking another look at Tidus' wounded arm, she had a doubt that she simply pierced him, it looked more like a slight slash.

"Draw, Cure!"

A small light spiraled around him and his wound closed. He looked at it in amazement and folded his arm a few times to check it out.

"You really are good with magic, even I can tell."

She looked at him then bent down on the sand.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, hey, now! Don't let it get to you, okay? Let's just go look for the others, now."

She looked up to him and his smile cheered her up. There was only friendship in that smile. And care, too.

_Why did I see this? Even if it was not real, there must have been a reason for this? Am I… Could I fall for him if he'd try me?_

He took Carole's gunblade and handed it to her, just like he did in Besaid when he came on her crying with fear. He helped her up and she realized what it was. Like she first thought, even though she was older than him, she was looking at him like he was her older brother. She was the elder child of four, so no one ever looked out to her. But he did. Yes, this washed away her last doubts. Even though sometimes he looked at her an uneasy way, it was normal. Like a brother suddenly notices his sister is turning into a woman, it's normal to notice this. Especially for a teenage boy.

"Yes, let's go," she replied smiling too.

She was feeling like a huge weight came off her shoulders. How long has it been on her mind? Has it been all along, or just now?

They were walking away from the oasis when a shadow suddenly enwrapped them. Both froze and looked up. A huge bird came and hovered right before them.

"Whew!" Tidus breathed out at the sight.

"That's a big bird! I bet it's a Zu!" Carole supposed taking her gunblade out.

The bird flapped its wings and hit Tidus with its beak. It hit so hard Tidus had to lean over his sword not to collapse.

"Tidus!" Carole called.

"Need some help?" someone asked.

Next to Tidus appeared Auron, his huge sword over his shoulder, ready for battle.

"Nice of you to drop in!" Carole waved.

A thundara spell was shot at the bird, causing Tidus and Carole to look around in search of the one who did it.

"Are you all right?" Lulu inquired as she appeared as well.

"Y… yeah," Tidus answered.

"Here!" a voice called.

The wounded blond guy suddenly felt better when he received the effect of a curative spell. Selphie jumped in and waved.

"Hiya!"

"Hey, Selphie!" Carole greeted with a smile.

"Hum… the bird, maybe?" another voice interrupted.

Carole recognized that voice right away.

"Rach?"

Her sister jumped and slashed at the bird, followed by Auron and Tidus just before Lulu used another thundara spell. Determined not to be left out, Carole gave a shot and pulled the trigger at the proper time. Almost! Selphie finished it with a blow of her giant nunchaku.

With the threat out of the way, everyone gathered around. Tidus rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath then he looked up at those who just arrived.

"The others?" he inquired.

"Haven't found them yet," Lulu answered, a bit worried. 

"Let's look around some more, then," Rachel said.

"We're supposed to stay in one place if we get split up," Lulu objected.

"Wait here if you want," Tidus told.

Auron was already walking away, traced by the others.

"He's not," Tidus added.

They got in motion once more and Carole took advantage of this walk to inquire her friends' well being.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, woke up around here and came upon them right away," Rachel said.

"I heard the noise so I came and found you," Selphie added.

They kept walking, wiping some sweat from their face from time to time.

"Hum… say, did anything… unusual happen to you?" Carole inquired, casually.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"Since we came upon Sin… the toxin? Did it get to you?"

The two girls took a moment to think about it and looked at themselves like to be assured nothing was wrong.

"I don't think so," Rachel said.

"I think I'm fine, too."

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Just asking. I don't want anyone to get sick, now! I also heard this toxin can cause people to lose their memory!"

"Booya! I hope it didn't happen to any of the others!"

As they kept walking for a while, they saw remains of machina sticking out of the sand, broken structures and stuff. A cloth was tied to the top of one collapsed structure, making it look like half a tent. There was someone under that cloth and someone walking around it.

"Wakka!" Tidus called, recognizing the guy under the cloth.

He waved his hand and ran to him, followed by the others. Alerted by the call, three more people came out from behind the structure.

"Hey guys!" Carole called.

"Zell!" Rachel exclaimed.

He opened his arms and hugged her when she joined him.

"You okay?" he inquired scanning her face for any sign of pain or injury.

He looked so concerned it was almost embarrassing.

"Yes, yes, nothing happened."

Dave and Rinoa came around too and looked who was there, hoping to find their respective lover.

Wakka got up when Tidus got in front of him.

"Just you four?" he asked looking around.

Wakka nodded.

"Where's Yuna?" he asked with concern.

Of course, a guardian's main concern, is the well-being of the summoner, like the SeeDs' immediate concern was their lover's.

Tidus and Lulu looked at each other, clueless. They were hoping to find her with him.

"Dammit!" Wakka cursed kicking the metallic structure.

"Take it easy, man!" Dave advised a little too late.

Wakka grabbed his sore foot and jumped on the other.

"First I lose Yuna, then I'm ambushed by machina!" he said with anger. "Great day I'm having."

"Come, now," Rinoa started. "They came to us, so the others must be somewhere too. We'll find Yuna as well, I'm sure."

"Better get going, then," Carole concluded.

"Right, let's move," Dave approved. "I'm getting roasted, here!"

_The sooner we're all back together, the better,_ Carole thought.

"Hey," Tidus called as they started moving. "You got a pretty big gang, but it seems at least they are not alone around here."

"K-chan! I sure hope she's not alone!" Carole suddenly thought with concern.

"She must have ended up with someone, or at least close to someone."

"I hope so…"

"Hey!" Dave called from around the structure. "I think we can pass here!"

They went behind and walked pass it to get around a dune. There were more machina scattered around the sand.

"I wonder what happened, here," Selphie said looking around.

"Yeah, all those machina…" Rinoa said. 

"Maybe there used to be a city here, too," Dave supposed. "Like the one we saw underwater when we crossed the Moonflow."

"Who knows?" Rachel said.

There was no wind to cool them down even just a little, but unfortunately, there were monsters which wasn't helping keeping cool. Mostly machina, as a matter of fact. Once a couple of them was brought down, Carole rested against her gunblade.

"Urgh! To think I woke up next to an oasis but I didn't take any water with me!"

"That's one thing," Dave said. "In shops, then sell all kinds of medicines, but they don't sell bottles of water."

"Hey, you're right!" Rinoa realized. "Maybe we could start our own shop! The Timber Wings' Water Shop!"

"Maybe you could make money in the middle of the desert, but in a town, it could be harder," Rachel said.

"Argh! I hate sand!" Selphie complained. "The only desert we got back home is around the prison and no way I'm ever stepping close to that place again!"

It always seems that sand manage to get anywhere even under closed up parts of clothing. They could look around, the only thing they could see was sand as far as the eye can see. High dunes were sometimes giving no choice but to go around them.

"Hey, something is there!" Tidus called.

Everyone hurried to him and when they got around a dune, they saw Kimahri trying to climb on top of one. He kept sliding down from it, but tried it again anyway.

"It's Kimahri!" Carole exclaimed.

Someone else was standing at the foot of the hill. Someone small, a little girl, looking at Kimahri's attempt to climb that hill.

"K-chan!" Carole exclaimed running towards the girl.

Tidus went for poor Kimahri as he came down once again. He shook his head.

"Yuna… gone."

"It's not your fault, Kimahri," Tidus said.

Carole smiled widely at her young friend.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, sir Kimahri took me along right away when I woke up. But he kept trying to climb up there."

She looked at the small crew they were carrying along.

"I guess lady Yuna is not with you, huh?"

"No, we're still looking," Tidus answered as they got ready to keep going.

"And others are missing too?"

"Yeah, but this desert is big, isn't it? We'll find everyone!"

The group getting larger was set in motion once more. Since the place where Kimahri was trying to climb was only a dead-end, they back-tracked a little and went around the dune to keep going.

"Man, it's hot…" Tidus said. "I'm used to water, not sand, whew!"

"I live on an island!" Carole said.

"Hey, we all do!" Zell replied.

"Can you stop complaining?" Auron asked, annoyed. "The more you talk, the more you raise your body temperature, that's why you feel so hot!"

Carole frowned.

"I think that clearly meant: Shut the hell up!" Zell said.

"I don't like him… How can it be that he's not hot with that heavy coat he carries around?"

"He's so mean and cold to anyone, that it keeps him cool!" Selphie said.

She stuck her tongue out to Auron's back, causing the others to laugh a little. But they decided to follow Auron's advice and keep quiet a little. They didn't want to attract anymore fiends.

They were walking for quite some time when they came upon another half-tent structure. There was someone standing next to it and someone sitting under the cloth.

"Oh! Hey, guys!" Rikku called raising her arm in the air.

Audrey got up from under the cloth and waved at her friends too.

"Hey, Adam, the others are here!" she called.

From behind the structure, Adam came running and he ran to the others where he stopped to inquire if they were alright.

"Where's Yunie?" Rikku asked Tidus.

"Gone," he answered shaking his head.

"Gone…" Lulu trailed off. "Some guardian I am."

Everyone gathered together and Adam tried to cheer Lulu up. She was worried and it was understandable.

"Come on, Lu, you can't blame yourself for Yuna being taken away from us by Sin! We were all scattered around the place, we have to keep looking, we'll find her!"

She looked at him, wondering if she could believe those words.

"You also have your other friends to find."

"Right!"

"Umm…" Rikku interrupted. "There's something I wanna tell you, but promise not to say anything."

The SeeDs already nodded but Wakka stared at Rikku suspiciously.

"Hmm?"

"No glaring, either!" she warned. "I know where we are. We're on Bikanel Island."

This island was far off the western coast of Besaid. They really got a long way.

"There's a place us Al Bhed call Home near here. Yunie's there, I'm sure of it! Other Al Bhed must have come and rescued her!"

"Rescued?" Wakka started crossing his arms. "You mean kidnapped!"

"What does it matter as long as she's safe?" Tidus stated.

"That's right!" Rikku approved. "Anyway, I will take you there if you promise that you won't tell anyone about it. Especially not Yevonites, okay? You know they don't like us Al Bhed. Who knows what they'll do if they knew?"

"Gimme a break," Wakka cut. "What are you accusing Yevon of this time?"

"Yevon did something really bad to us, before," Rikku explained.

"Well, you Al Bhed must've deserved it," Wakka supposed.

"Aargh!" Tidus groaned grabbing his head, simultaneously mimicked by almost everyone.

"This Al Bhed and Yevon thing really gets on my nerves!" Dave let out. "Can someone knock some sense into this guy before I punch his lights out?"

"Wait a minute," Rinoa stopped him.

"Can't you guys… talk about this later?" Tidus asked, getting annoyed as well.

"Just promise you won't ever tell anyone about this island," Rikku insisted. "Promise?"

"Wakka, come on!" Tidus urged.

Wakka scratched the back of his head and finally gave in. If Yuna was in that place, screw the rest… for now.

"All right, I promise! Lead the way."

"You got it!" Rikku replied.

The gang followed Rikku around the structure.

"That way!" she said and started running.

"How can she run like that?" Carole asked out loud.

"Let's keep going," Dave said. "What I wonder is why Wakka is so damn stubborn!"

Rinoa came next to him.

"I wonder why you always talk about it?" she asked with a teasing smile.

He stopped and turned to her.

"Don't tell me it's not annoying you?!"

Adam came next to them.

"You know what I think? I think you're worried about Quistis so you try to think of something else!"

Dave looked away, pretending nothing was wrong. Carole walked in front of him to look at his face.

"Hey, I think he's right! You are worried!"

"So what? Isn't it normal that I'd care?"

"On the contrary, I'm one to understand," Carole said.

She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Who knows? She may be with Yuna!"

"With Squall too?" he asked with a smile.

"Well, you never know!"

As they were talking, a couple of machina attacked the guardians. Rikku took the lead.

"Let me handle the machina! I'll take them apart, piece by piece!"

And she did. She stole from them and it caused them to fall in pieces. The SeeDs followed, leaving the remains of machina behind them to be covered with sand through the years.

They followed her further ahead but she suddenly stopped. She looked around, unsure.

"Uhh… which was it again?" she asked herself.

"Great," Zell said. "She doesn't even know the way to her home…"

She ran around a dune, forcing everyone to speed up not to lose her. She was their only chance out of this burning hell.

"Isn't there an easier way?" Tidus asked.

"No complaining!"

Kerry was still keeping up with her mentor, as usual. From time to time, she was looking up to her and trying to figure out what she was thinking about. Of course, it was not so hard to guess. She was always thinking about the same thing. Since he was not around, she was worried of his well-being. She promised herself to be strong and support her like she always did so far.

Rikku stopped further ahead to be sure everyone was still behind her.

"Over here!"

"Are we there, yet?" Selphie asked.

"I don't think so," Rinoa answered. "But at least we are not in the dark anymore, we are actually going somewhere."

Rikku stopped a moment to think carefully. 

"Umm… this way!" she said.

Past yet another dune, they came upon two large rocks with a passage between the two. Rikku took it so everyone follows. As they got through, Carole turned to her team.

"Everyone still here?" she asked.

"All those who were already here, yes," Zell answered.

He was walking in the end with Rachel as the rear guard.

A few machina blocked the guardians' way.

"You sure this is the way?" Lulu asked getting a bit skeptical.

"Yeah! I think…"

Lulu released thundaras on a machina and Rikku stole from the other, breaking it into pieces. Tidus finished it off afterwards.

With the machina down, the group went through the passage and stopped on the other side, staring in awe. They were facing a large plain with remains of buildings sticking out of the sand all over. Far away, some rocks were sticking out like a mountain chain.

"Wow…" Dave trailed off.

"The hell!? More sand? Why is it that a desert is covered in sand, huh? Why can't it be covered with water?"

"That's the sea, stupid!" Dave answered smacking the back of Zell's head with annoyance.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"For being stupid."

Rachel had a hard time hiding her laughter but the others didn't even bother trying. They let it out freely. Zell started punching the air.

"Stop it, you guys! Come on!"

For once, even Auron seemed to smile. He only seemed since it was hard to see under his high collar. But the guardians were still greatly concerned about Yuna. For a moment, the SeeDs didn't worry about their remaining missing friends. But as they started moving again, it came back right away.

"Well, I just hope we didn't pass them," Rinoa said.

"Yeah…" Carole trailed off.

She reached for the griever still hanging around her neck.

_I'm only hasty, I'm not worried… Like I know they're alright…_

They crossed the plain quite quickly. With no more dunes around the place, it was easier to walk, but there was no shadow to even slightly shield them from the blazing sun. 

"Hey, what's that?" Tidus suddenly asked.

As they reached the other side of the plain, they came upon a rock with writings on it. It was in Al Bhed and there were two red arrows pointing right and left. Everyone gathered next to it.

_Pafyna uv fiend!_

Faygan fiend du dra nekrd.

Cdnuhkan fiend du dra mavd.

"What does it mean?" Kerry asked.

"Beware of fiend!" Rikku said.

"Weaker fiend to the right and stronger fiend to the left," Carole completed.

Everyone turned to her with surprise.

"Yeah!" Rikku exclaimed. "How did you know?"

"I guessed. I don't know much, but what I know gave me some clues, I guessed the rest."

"Well, good guess."

"I think we're heading right, then," Tidus supposed.

"You all go right," Carole said. "I'm going left, in case we'd have friends over there."

"I'm coming with you!" Kerry said right away.

At first, Carole wanted her to go with the guardians the easy way, but she knew she'd never make her change her mind. Like a single mind, the other SeeDs all agreed to go that way.

"If there are stronger fiends, the more we are, the easier," Dave said.

Carole turned to Rikku after nodding at her team.

"Hey, Rikku, do you know if this way will join up with yours?"

"Yeah, it does further ahead, but since there are stronger and larger fiends that way, I usually don't like to go close to that place."

"Alright, then we'll meet up on the other side. You mind waiting for us?"

"Not at all!" Tidus answered before Auron would say anything. "But don't take too long, okay?"

Carole nodded and smiled.

"On the condition we don't get there before you!" she teased.

"Ha! You wish!"

Each team parted their way, everyone waving at each other. The SeeDs left alone suddenly felt weird even though there was a lot of them. And though some of their friends were still missing, they felt like more were gone. After all, they have been travelling with the guardians for quite a long time, now and having them away felt strange.

"Better get used to it," Carole said guessing her friends' thought since she shared them as well. "When we get back home, we'll probably never see them again…"

The mood went down a lot. They all knew that of course, but they didn't stop to think about it until now. It was always hard to part with friends. They would see them on the other side, but who knows how long until they would be apart again and this time forever?

As they walked, they saw yet another plain but far ahead, there was a barrier except in one place, where they were heading. That way was probably catching up with the other. In the middle of that plain, there was a big collapsed tower that could be used as a shelter. There was a huge bird flying next to it like it saw something there.

"That's a big bird!" Audrey commented.

"Yeah, and it's tough!" Carole said.

They were interrupted by sounds of gunfire. It was a single shot like one of a shotgun.

"Hey, isn't that…?" Rachel started.

Selphie suddenly took on a worried face as she also recognize the noise of the gun. It only confirmed their supposition.

"Irvy!" she exclaimed and started running towards the tower.

"Selphie, wait!" Carole called raising a hand.

But the worried girl was deaf. She kept running.

"Come on, let's go!" the leader said before running ahead as well.

Her team followed her towards the creature. Adam readied an arrow and once he was in range, he released it. The bird let out a scream of pain and turned around. Just in time, Irvine seemed pretty bad. Someone was with him, hidden under the tower to try and heal his wounds. Selphie hurried to Irvine while the others kept the Zu busy and Audrey hurried to Seifer's side. Both girls attended to the wounds of their friend.

"Irvy!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Hey, Sefie! What took you so long?"

"Stupid… You could have been killed!"

"Hey, I was not gonna let that thing kill Seifer, now."

"Hah… I could have taken it down myself," Seifer replied.

"Yeah, right!" Audrey scolded. "You can't even take care of yourself!"

The huge bird landed on its legs, unable to fly anymore due to the wounds it was given.

"Great, let's finish it!" Carole said with confidence.

The bladers dashed the monster and slashed it like mad. It didn't have a chance, it disappeared in loads of pyreflies. Then the team hurried to their wounded friends.

"You okay, guys?" Carole inquired.

"Sure!" Irvine said waving his hand. "Good to see you, miss leader!"

"Glad to see you're doing well, Irvine. How you doing, Seifer?"

"Never been better, thank you…"

Irvine looked at them and noticed some people were still missing.

"Squall and Quistis are not with you?"

"No, we thought they might be at Home with Yuna."

"Home?"

She explained what they learned from Rikku and told them they were to meet the guardians on the other side of this place.

"Well, you got lucky," Seifer said getting up. "We had to end up in the middle of the worst place in all this desert! And on top of that, I had to end up with him!" he finished pointing his gunblade at Irvine.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Irvine said sarcastically as he bowed. "Next time, I'll let you be bird food, okay?"

Seifer looked away, frowning. Both seemed to be doing fine, at least.

"We were lucky," Irvine said. "We managed to stay under cover for a while until Seifer felt like taking a look around. I can't believe you didn't see that bird coming with the size of it!"

"For its size, it's incredibly discreet!" Seifer said to defend himself.

"He's right, I was attacked by one, too!" Carole told. "I noticed it only once it was on me."

"See?"

"Anyway, can we get going, now?" Adam asked. "I don't want another one of these after us."

"I agree, let's move!" Carole said.

The team gathered but since they only got bigger, they were probably sticking out, so she was ready for a fight. Any fiend would be tempted by such a large crew. Unless they could feel their opponent's strength, they would know they were at a disadvantage.

As they walked towards the way out of this plain, Carole was looking behind her from time to time, trying to see the place completely, just in case.

"No one else's here," Seifer told her when he noticed her.

She was startled to find him right next to her all of a sudden. Would he not have so much trouble with authority, he would have made a really good SeeD.

"Oh, I was just…"

"I know what you were looking for. Rather who, right?"

He was looking straight ahead of him, not even taking a look at her.

"Y…yeah. Although I know he's fine, I feel it, I can't help it… I want to see him next to me as always…"

"Tch… I can't say that I don't understand. It's weird, but I still don't like him much, you know. I can bear him around, but being friends is another story."

"Yeah, I know that," she said with a smile to the tall guy. "You're rivals, and you'll always be! Your goal is to get stronger than him, I suppose?"

"You can say that. I train only in hope that I can beat him someday but then I think… If I do, what will be my goal then?"

"So he also trains to stay better than you!"

Seifer had a smile which was surprising. The only time she ever saw him smile was when he was around Audrey. 

"I guess. But now, at least, I wouldn't fight to hurt him or kill him anymore. Only to be stronger… But maybe he fights for reasons I can't understand."

"No, I know you fight for the same reasons. He fights to protect his friends and…"

"You?"

She lowered her head and smiled, slightly blushing.

"Yeah. Just like I do."

Seifer took a look at her then looked back in front of him, thoughtful.

"Maybe I should try that… fighting with other feelings than anger and will to be the best. Fight for friends…"

"Seifer!" Audrey called.

His face changed as he slowed his pace down for her to catch up to him. Carole smiled.

_You already do, Seifer. In your own way, you are strong. We all fight for different reasons. Yourself you found another reason to fight than being a lapdog and I think you fit that perfectly._

They crossed the barrier to come out yet in another plain. There were holes around the place, some containing plant monsters. 

"Hey!" someone called.

From south, the guardians arrived. Tidus was waving at them

"Great, you found more of your friends!"

"Lucky you went to look!" Rikku added.

"Only two more, now, ya?"

"Yeah…two more…" Carole trailed off.

She turned to Dave and decided to be strong. He was trying his best not to look too worried so she would too. She couldn't help but be certain they were alright. She didn't have any doubt at all, she just knew it.

"We're almost there," Rikku told. "Just watch those fiends in the sand holes."

The group started moving yet once more. Some were intrigued by the holes because some had treasure chests next to them. Curious, and willing to do her part for the team, Kerry carefully got close to one. Carole didn't notice her leaving her side because Tidus came to chat a bit. 

Kerry leant over the chest but when she touched it, it slid down in the hole. Surprised by this, Kerry's foot slipped towards the hole.

"Kyaa!" she screamed.

Her scream was clearly heard by everyone and recognized right away by the one who promised always to watch over her. Carole spun around in fear and saw Kerry slide down the hole.

"Kerry!" she called with fear as she ran towards the hole.

"Hold on!" Tidus called as he ran that way as well.

Carole grabbed Kerry's hand before she'd get to the bottom of the hole. A plant monster was waiting in the bottom for someone to beat up. 

"Don't let go!" Kerry plead with fear.

"No way!" Carole answered. 

The sand was rolling down into the hole, causing Carole to slowly slide down as well.

"Ugh... I can't..."

She was on her front and had nothing to hold on to. She felt a tight grip grab her foot. She turned her head.

"Pull her up!" Tidus said. "I got you!"

"Okay!"

The long range fighters would have attacked the monster if it wasn't from how close Kerry was to it. They were afraid to hit her by accident. They were only waiting for Carole to get her out to attack.

"Watch it!" Rikku warned.

The monster started spitting loads of seeds up to Carole.

"Ouch! Ow!"

Her eyes got confused. She couldn't see straight anymore. It was an attack to confuse an opponent. Her hand started releasing her grip on Kerry's.

"C-chan, don't let go!" she called with tears in her eyes.

"Wake up!" Tidus called.

"Hit her!" Rachel said. "Hit her, it will bring her back to her senses!"

"Huh? A... alright!"

He got on his knees, forced to let go of her foot and got to her back. Then he hit the back of her head.

"Ugh!"

She shook her head and looked around, a little lost.

"Huh? What the?"

"C-chan!"

Recalling what happened, Carole grabbed Kerry's hand with both of hers and pulled hard, getting her out of there. Tidus pulled her back then all three of them were standing on their knees while the others took care of the fiend. Kerry kept her head down, shameful.

"I'm sorry... I wasn't careful enough..."

Carole looked at her and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her.

"It's okay. You wanted to make yourself useful. Just... don't go by yourself next, okay?"

Kerry nodded eagerly.

Carole smiled comfortingly at her to show she was not angry then she turned to Tidus.

"Hey, thanks for... you know," she started rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh, did I hit too hard?" he asked scratching the back of his head with an uneasy smile.

"No, no, it was perfect! If I ever want to be hit behind the head again, I'll ask you."

They laughed a bit, already leaving that incident behind them.

"Hey, you done?" Wakka asked.

They turned their head to him and realized the monster has been killed and everyone was waiting for them. They got up.

"Yeah, sorry."

Kerry stood next to Carole and lowered her head.

"Stop that," the elder girl scolded. "I told you, it's alright. You're gonna make me feel bad if you keep going like that! You don't want me to feel bad, now, do you?"

"Oh, no!"

"Good. Let's go, then."

Rikku was gone ahead.

"Over here!" she called waving at them.

Everyone followed her towards the only way out of this place. But unfortunately, it was blocked by another hole with a monster inside it.

"I guess it's up to us," Adam said taking his bow out.

Rinoa readied her own weapon and Wakka came with them with his ball. As long at they would stay away, they would avoid the confusion. Lulu released fira spells since it was its weak spot.

The SeeD leader was feeling weird. She reached a hand up to her chest and clenched it. She lowered her head, panting. Most of the others were busy cheering the fighters on so only Kerry noticed.

"C-chan?"

"I'm... I'm okay... I guess I'm too hot. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

Kerry took on a worried look. She could have sworn there was more to her friend's condition than she was letting out. 

_Stay there! Hold on! _

Tidus turned around and saw her too. He lost his cheerful face and came to her.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

She looked straight in front of her and both Tidus and Kerry jumped back a little. She looked like she was in a small trance for a moment.

"There... they're straight ahead..."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. She was back to normal. She didn't seem to realize what just happened and she looked from Tidus to Kerry, not understanding why they looked so weird.

"What's wrong?" she inquired.

Tidus got a hand on her shoulder, a bit unsure.

"You... you okay?"

"I feel better. I don't know what came over me, but I'm fine now. Did I ... do something weird?"

"You..." Kerry started.

"No, nothing," Tidus answered, thinking it was the best answer.

"Oh, okay, then."

Rikku signaled for everyone to follow her so they obeyed. Kerry turned to Tidus, wondering why he said nothing happened since they both saw something.

"It's better," he said. "She doesn't know anything happened so telling her would only make her worry. She already has enough worries."

"Yes... you're right, but... What if it happens again?"

"We'll think of something, then."

They climbed a hill after Rikku. The Al Bhed girl suddenly froze and widened her eyes in horror.

"Aaaaaaa!" she suddenly screamed with horror, grabbing her head from the sight in front of her.

"Rikku!" Tidus called.

Everyone hurried up to join her and find out what could have happened to her. Carole frowned and spun around and looked behind her. Seeing no one, she hurried up the hill as well.

Back to the place that has been her hideout for many years, Veronique felt relieved.

"Whew... she knew I was there, I'm sure! A little more and it could have been awful... I didn't know if I could hold her but I managed. It is too soon for her. But sooner or later, she'll have to let it out."

She sighed.

"It is my time as well, I finally made up my mind!"

__

**A/N: Whoohoo! Another chapter so soon! A long one as well, but shorter than the last one! Heh, heh! I finished with a cliffhanger! Although everyone who played the game know what is gonna happen. Or do you?**


	19. Chapter 18: Shocking Truth

****

Chapter 18: Shocking Truth

Up the hill, everyone stared in amazement at the huge building standing down on the other side. Flying fiends were roaming around the place, smoke was rising up from fires set up around the place. Screams were coming up and gunfireas well. It looked like they arrived in the middle of a war.

"What? Yuna's down there?" Wakka understood with concern.

"Oh, my god!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Of all the places…" Lulu started. "Let's go!"

Fiends were attacking the Al Bhed who were trying their best to keep them away from their home. The gang ran down the hill in fear and haste as well. They were ready for battle since it looked inevitable. They were just praying their friends were unharmed.

"Where's Yuna?" Wakka called.

Ahead of them, an Al Bhed collapsed due to high wounds. Rikku ran to him with horror.

"Keyakku!" she called.

She dropped on her knees next to him.

"Who? Who's attacking us? Fru tet drec du oui?"

"Yevon… Guado…" the Al Bhed trailed off as he died.

"Keyakku? Keyakku!"

Rikku was overwhelmed with sorrow as Lulu came behind her, the last words of the Al Bhed making their way into her mind.

"A war? Between Yevon and the Al Bhed?"

"Dryd ec fnuhk!" a voice interfered.

An older, bald Al Bhed came between them and Rikku turned her saddened face to him, recognizing the man.

"Vydran…" she said as he went for the dead Al Bhed.

He put a knee down and checked for a pulse without too much hope. Shaking his head, he found none. Rikku blinked next to him, sad. The man took the young man in his arms a minute before gently resting him back on the ground. He cleared his throat and got up.

"You Rikku's friends?" he asked. "Well, just don't stand there, come on!"

He turned around to face everyone with a determined look.

"Let's go kick those Guados out of our Home!" he exclaimed before going in.

Rikku was keeping her head down and her eyes closed with pain. Everyone could understand, but no one actually knew what to say to her.

"Who…?" Tidus inquired getting behind her.

"Cid. Leader of the Al Bhed… He's my dad."

"Did she say Cid?" Zell asked with surprise.

"Whatever, let's go," Carole urged.

"Yeah," Rikku approved. "We have to save Yunie."

"Not only Yuna. Right?" Tidus asked her referring to the place. 

Rikku turned around to him, a little cheered up.

"Right!"

"Rao! Oui, Rinno ehceta!" someone called from the entrance.

Everyone spun around towards the door but one decided to run towards it recognizing the voice as she felt her heart start pounding in her chest. None seemed to realize just yet how come he was speaking Al Bhed.

"Whoops! Sorry, forgot you don't really understand Al Bhed," Squall apologized.

He didn't hear her coming, he didn't even see her. He only realized she was there once she was into his arms, holding tightly. Her heart was pounding as she felt relief to finally see him again. Carole wondered why she felt so relieved if she knew all along he was alright.

"Hey, you okay?" he inquired.

She released him, a bit shameful.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me."

She felt uneasy not having him close before, even a bit awkward, maybe. But now everything was fine.

"Hey, when did you learn to speak Al Bhed?" Tidus asked when he joined them.

"It's easy once you get the hang of it. They found me right away so I had to learn quickly."

Dave came to him, a bit shy to ask but he had to. With him there, only Quistis was missing.

"Is Quistis with you?"

"She's inside, don't worry. Went deeper in to try and fight the fiends. I told her I wanted to stay around here in case you'd show up. Guess I was right."

He looked at everyone, all glad to know they'd soon be reunited again. 

"We don't have much time, we have to hurry!" Squall advised.

They all hurried in to leave this sorry scenery, aware they would probably see more of this once they would get inside. It was in shambles. Pyreflies were floating around the dead bodies of Al Bhed and small fires were finishing burning some collapsed pieces of structure.

They crossed a bridge on the other side of the door and got to a circular platform with few more bridges leading to different doors around it. Some were collapsed, making it impossible to cross. Everyone had their weapons in hand, ready for anything.

"Yuna!" Tidus called. "Where are you?"

A growl was heard and a Bomb dropped down right in the middle of the group, followed with two more, summoned by a Guado who just arrived through a door to block their path.

"Damn you!" Tidus exclaimed as he ran to the Guado.

He slashed him and Irvine shot with his Exeter to finish it.

"Which kind of bombs are they?" Rachel inquired. "Are they the kind that explode?"

"Wait a minute…" Squall asked.

He slashed one of them and waited. The Bomb shook a little and suddenly grew a little bigger.

"Yup, the growing type," Zell said.

"K-chan, you stay out," Carole stated.

"Yeah, I remember the last time. Caused you to use your limit break…"

"Don't worry about this, now," Auron cut in. "We must hurry!"

"Yeah!" Seifer approved.

The strongest fighters took care of the enemies quite quickly. Once the threat was out of the way, the guardians stood in the middle of the platform in circles, and the SeeDs and their friends watched around for any more enemies.

"Ugh… What in Yevon's name are those Guado thinking?" Wakka asked.

Rikku ran towards a door.

"This is terrible!"

The door opened up automatically and everyone followed her. They ran through a corridor when a voice came out from an intercom system and echoed around them. They stopped to pay attention.

"Drec pedac!" Cid's voice said. "Rikku! Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan duu! E ys majamehk Home! Yht dra fiend fedr ed!"

"Oh, no!" Rikku exclaimed with a panic as she turned to the others.

"What did he say?" Kerry asked.

"Underground?" Squall asked, unsure.

"Yes, we have to go!" Rikku confirmed.

"Where's Yuna?" Auron asked.

"Where's Quistis?" Dave asked along.

Rikku ran ahead and turned back to everyone at the end of the corridor.

"The Summoners' Sanctum! This way!"

A fiend arrived from the stairs behind her, interrupting the ones who wanted to ask what was the Summoners' Sanctum. Two horned beasts guided by another Guado attacked them.

"I've had enough!" Seifer exclaimed as he slashed the Guado and pulled the trigger. 

Audrey followed him and slashed with her twin circles. The Guado came down.

The horned beast proved a little harder. They had a thick skin and only weapons like Auron's sword could pierce through it. The gunlades proved pretty effective as well for the bullet they could release could dig under the skin and cause some damage. Irvine's bullets, although quite strong, were nearly being rebounded off the skin. One was brought down, leaving only one. Auron unleashed his armor break special skill, causing the skin of the monster to get a little less thick, allowing the weaker fighter to go for it. Tidus and Kimahri slashed and Zell went to deliver a few punches of his own, ending the battle.

"Let's find Yuna! Quick!" Tidus urged.

"Over here!" Rikku called climbing down the stairs and going into yet another corridor.

Down in the corridor, it split in three more. Collapsed pieces of structure and rocks were scattered around the place. More fire and smoke along with more fiends wandering the place.

"Yuna!" Tidus called. "Where are you?"

Rikku led them to the left corridor and through a door. They passed a small bridge and ended up on a platform. There was a blocked door to the right and a staircase leading down a bit farther. Rikku brought her head down looking at all the mess her home has become. She was pretty depressed.

"This place done for," Wakka said with a frown folding his arms.

"You're right. You're right, Wakka. We Al Bhed, we… we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we all used to live. After that, we were scattered to every corner of Spira. But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. If we put our minds to it and worked together, then we could make a new home. Everyone worked hard, we had our Home back again… But now… Why did things have to turn out this way?"

"Poor girl…" Adam trailed off with compassion.

Carole and Rachel kind of understood her feelings. They felt like that when the Lunar Base crashed during the Lunar Cry. They have lived there most of their life so seeing it crash and go down in pieces was hard for them. They didn't know what to say even still.

"Rikku…" Wakka started placing a hand on her shoulder for small comfort.

She threw herself against him to cry.

"Damn, those Guado! What are they thinking?" he cursed holding Rikku.

A Chimera came from the collapsed bridge to the right while another one came from the stairs, ambushing them.

"Watch out!" someone exclaimed.

Dave looked over the side to see Quistis standing downstairs.

"Quisty!" he called feeling relieved to see her alright.

"Fight them!" she commanded.

He turned to the one that came through the door and unsheathed his sword. The chimeras were pretty hard to beat monsters. They could use fire, ice and thunder. Carole and Kerry joined forces to go after the Guado first who was quickly brought down. Only chimeras left. They were strong and their spells were high level. The Ice breath ability could hit everyone in attack range for a little less damage, but the Megiddo Flame which could only damage one proved a little more painful. Dave realized it when he took a full hit of one. He was thrown away onto his back.

"Dave!" Adam called.

The guy got up like nothing was wrong.

"Don't worry about me! Go for it!"

"Get out of the way!" Adam called.

Dave threw himself aside to save some time and Adam released an arrow at that moment. It hit and distracted the fiend which allowed Dave to get away. Auron and Tidus went for it and Wakka used his special ability to blind it for a while, giving them a small chance. Unfortunately, its special abilities were unaffected by the blind spell so it could still hit effectively. 

"Hey, over here!" Quistis called on the other Chimera.

She cracked her whip at it and the chimera turned to her. It took a deep breath and used the Megiddo Flame at her, throwing her against the wall downstairs. Dave saw it through the metal bars and widened his eyes when he saw her fall on the floor and not get up. With the others busy with one chimera, the other one decided to aim at an easy target: the unconscious Quistis. 

"N… no! Get back here!"

Alerted by his call, Rinoa turned around.

"Dave!"

He grabbed the bar and threw himself over it.

"You crazy?" Zell asked.

The wounded guy landed on a knee and a fist. He started emitting a red characteristic aura that the SeeDs recognized right away.

"All right!" Zell exclaimed. "A limit break!"

"His limit isn't that strong," Adam stated. "I don't think it'll be enough."

Dave looked straight at the chimera which was still paying no attention to him. He got up and held his katana behind him.

"Dragon Fury!" he called.

He ran to the chimera which finally decided to turn around, annoyed. Dave brandished his blade and it burst in flames. He started slashing at the chimera, each slashes making a fire line in the air that didn't disappear. It formed a symbol in front of the chimera, and under it as well.

"What…?" Adam started, amazed.

"I never saw that!" Rinoa assured.

Dave formed a circle around the symbol and the one in front of the chimera disappeared, but not the one on the floor. It was burning under its feet. Dave took his sheath in hands and slowly placed his sword in. As it fully came in, the symbol on the ground exploded and a huge fire dragon came out of it, burning the chimera to a crisp. The dragon and the symbol vanished along with the chimera.

"N… no way!" Tidus trailed off.

With the threat out of the way, Dave hurried to his prime concern. He fell on his knees next to Quistis and turned her up with great care. Her eye lids moved, bringing a relieved look on the worried guy's face. She opened her eyes and smiled when she caught sight of him.

"You okay?" he inquired in a soft tone.

She nodded with a smile.

"It shouldn't have knocked me out, I'm sorry. I was careless."

"No. I'm happy. For once, I was able to do something worth it."

He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tight feeling some pain overcome him. A hand was pressed on his shoulder, making him turn his head.

"I guess it's true that limit breaks are a worn out," he said.

"Yeah, but they are useful," Carole answered.

Quistis sat up and used a curative spell on her beloved. He looked at himself, feeling much better.

"You used a limit break?" she inquired.

"Yeah, but a new one. I just felt it burn inside me."

"No wonder I didn't recognize it, then!" Adam exclaimed as he came close to them.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's your fourth, isn't it?" Rinoa asked.

"Yeah, and the best if you ask me," Dave answered.

"What was that symbol?" Adam inquired.

"The kanji for 'dragon', am I right?" Carole asked.

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"I got a Japanese friend, remember? I learned a little."

Miaka… She hasn't thought about her for a while, now. How was she doing? Was she worried sick? Along with Gackt, they probably were. And Laguna? She wondered if Squall was thinking of him. After all, he was his father. Squall wasn't worried about him, for he knew that back home, everyone was alright. For now, the important thing was them, stuck here for who knows how much longer.

Since everyone was doing fine, and there were no more fiends around them, Lulu got to Rikku to ask a question that she didn't have the time to ask earlier. The guardians were still upstairs while the SeeDs joined the rest of their friends downstairs, waiting for the guardians. They climbed down one set before they stopped. 

"Rikku, what is the Summoners' Sanctum?" Lulu demanded.

"The Summoners' Sanctum is where we keep the summoners. We keep them safe there," Rikku answered with a smile, facing the others her back.

"You kidnapped them," Wakka understood behind her.

Rikku nodded, sorry and turned around to face them.

"I know it's against the teachings and all that…" she started.

"I get why you did it, but…"

"Well, I sure don't get it, Wakka," Tidus said as he walked down between them. "They might get hurt on their pilgrimage so you kidnap them? I mean, if the summoners don't do their job, then who'll beat Sin?"

He stopped by Rikku with an understanding face, a fist on his hip.

"You want to protect them, I know. But guardians are there for that. If guardians do their job well, summoners will be safe! Right?"

The SeeDs agreed with that, paying attention to the conversation, hoping to understand better themselves about this world's way of life. 

The guardians all kept silent, not one agreed with Tidus. Some were even looking sad for unknown reasons.

"Right!?" Tidus asked louder, waiting for an approval.

His heart was beating faster for some reason. He was feeling uneasy. Why the silent treatment?.

Rikku closed her eyes, apparently sad. Kimahri stepped forward.

"It's quiet. Kimahri goes now."

He went down the last set of stairs, followed with Wakka, traced by the SeeDs. Lulu followed shortly before Auron. Rikku was facing Tidus a moment, then hurried downstairs, leaving Tidus alone with questions racing in his mind, feeling uneasy and a little worried, now.

"What's going on?" Adam asked.

"They're hiding something," Carole answered in a low voice. "I'm sure of it."

"What could they be hiding?" Kerry asked.

"I don't know and it's starting to make me mad… Let's go, maybe we'll find out soon."

Rikku hurried to the only door on this level and opened it in haste.

"Yuna, please be here!" she begged as she entered the next room.

Tidus followed, thoughtful.

The whole gang passed the door. The room was in shambles like the rest of this place. Fires around the place and dead Al Bhed around the floor.

"Oh!!" Rikku exclaimed with horror when she saw a fellow Al Bhed dead next to them.

"Yuna!" Kimahri called as he quickly looked around.

Rikku dropped on her knees next to the dead Al Bhed. She was devastated.

A familiar looking woman came to them, standing next to a familiar looking guy. Both were summoners. One was Dona, the man was Isaaru. 

"She's not here," Dona told. "Hello again. Wait here until we have performed the sending."

Isaaru came behind her. Both were looking sad.

"They died… protecting us," Isaaru explained. "It's not much, but the least we can do is give them a proper sending."

The two summoners turned around to start their duty. The guardians remained there, more worried than ever about Yuna. The SeeDs were looking around, feeling sorry for all the Al Bhed around. They kidnapped the summoners so they would not get hurt on their pilgrimage, but they ended up being killed to protect them. What was fair about this? The SeeDs couldn't understand.

As the summoners were performing the sending, Pacce, Isaaru's younger brother, hurried to Tidus and stopped in front of him with a curious look on his face.

"Hey, what's 'sacrificed'?" he asked. "The Al Bhed said summoners were being 'sacrificed'. That summoners shouldn't have to do a pilgrimage…"

Tidus frowned but others started feeling something big was behind this.

"Sacrificed?" Carole said in a low voice.

"What the…?" Zell started.

"Why couldn't they trust guardians to protect the summoners?" Tidus wondered out loud. "The Al Bhed had no right stopping their pilgrimage!"

"The pilgrimages have to stop!" Rikku threw in. "If they don't, and they get to Zanarkand… They might defeat Sin. Yunie could… but then she…"

She looked up to him, looking very sad, on the verge of tears.

"Yunie will die, you know!"

It fell like a ton of bricks. A cold chill ran up everyone's spine and their lower lip dropped. No one knew what to say or what to think. She will die?

"You know, don't you?" Rikku continued in the same tone. "Summoners journey to get the Final Aeon. Yuna told you, didn't she? With the Final Aeon, she can beat Sin. But then… but then… If she calls it, then the Final Aeon's gonna kill her! Even if she defeats Sin, it will kill Yunie too, you know!"

Rikku collapsed on her knees, overcome with sorrow and despair as tears were released and freely rolled down her cheeks. Her arms each side of her, keeping her head down, her heart hurt a lot. Tidus was in shock but he was not the only one. Carole was staring at him, feeling her own heart squeeze with pain, just imagining what he was feeling. Everyone looked at each other, trying to figure out something to say, anything! But nothing came to mind.

"You all knew… and didn't tell us?" he asked in a low tone.

He kneeled in front of Rikku and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her for answers in panic, looking for a reason to all this.

"Tell me why! Why were you hiding it? Why didn't I know?"

"We weren't hiding it…" Wakka said to defend themselves.

"It was just… too hard to say," Lulu added with her head down, slowly shaking it.

"Aaargh!" Tidus yelled in despair as he withdrew his head backwards and shut his eyes.

He fell back on his forearms, delivering several punches to the ground as if it could help the pain to leave. His head was down and his eyes shut from the pain. Carole made a step forward, but Squall shook his head at her. It wasn't the right time. She reached for her mouth and tears started burning in the corner of her eyes. 

"Lulu! How could you?" he asked an accusing way. "How could you? Isn't she like a sister to you? I thought you were family!"

He got up and looked at Wakka a desperate way.

"Why don't you do something, Wakka?"

"Don't you think we tried to stop her?" Lulu asked, upset. "She follows… her heart."

"Yuna, she knew what she was doing when she chose to become a summoner," Wakka explained with his head down. "To face Sin, ya? Yuna knew!"

"But Wakka, that's just so totally wrong!" Rikku objected. "Summoners shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves just so the rest of Spira can be happy, right?"

Pyreflies gathered together on the other side of the room, catching the attention on the people present. They formed a big blue furry fiend while Tidus was holding his head in pain, confused and lost.

Dona and Isaaru stepped forward, formal.

"But that is our choice…" Isaaru said.

Dona started walking towards the fiend.

"We all live in fear of Sin. You know that."

Isaaru went with her towards the fiend.

"A world without Sin…" Isaaru started. "That is the dream of all Yevon's children."

The sound of a summoning was heard and Ifrit came out of nowhere behind him. Pacca and Maroda hurried to stand behind their brother as his guardians.

"And we will use that power even if it means our lives!" Isaaru finished.

Another sound was heard and Valefor came flying.

Both Aeons joined forces to attack the fiend. Everyone was looking at this, surprised and amazed, for a moment, forgetting everything, except one. Tidus was clenching his trembling fists, groaning, moaning in pain far worst than physical. Reason gave in and he ran straight ahead of him, half blind. 

"Tidus!" Carole called.

Rikku placed her arms over her head in fear as he ran pass her to get to Valefor. His sight was blurred. As he reached the Aeon, he rested a forearm against it and started punching it with his other fist. 

"Whoa, he's crazy!" Zell exclaimed.

But Valefor didn't even move. It allowed him to take his pain out on itself.

"And I've been telling Yuna… Let's go to Zanarkand together! Let's beat Sin! I told her all the thing that we could… we could… And all along, the whole time, I didn't know anything!"

He dropped on his knees and lowered his head.

"But Yuna, she… she'd… just smile."

He remained there as Valefor lowered its head over him and gently wrapped its wings around Tidus like it was trying to comfort him, understanding his pain.

He recalled the day they left Luca, what she told him when he joined her next to the balcony over the city. It was right after Auron told him Sin was his father.

[flashback]

_"Hey, watch!" she said and whistled._

"Hey, you got pretty good," he answered.

"You sound sad."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Wanna scream?"

"Hmm… I don't think it's gonna help this time."

"You know what? It's embarrassing to say this myself, but summoners and their guardians are kind of like Spira's ray of light. A lot of people in Spira depend on us. I learned to practice smiling when I'm feeling sad, you know? I know it's hard."

"Yeah… I understand, I think."

"Right. Now, let's see what you can do."

Laughing.

"I want my journey to be full of laughter."

[end of flashback]

"I can't let her die!" he said with determination as he got up.

He waved his arm out and frowned with determination.

"I'll find her!"

"I'm with you!" Carole cheered on.

"Me too!" Zell added.

"We're all coming!" Squall stated.

The Aeons were dismissed and everyone headed towards another door at the end of the room.

"Yes, it has to change," a voice trailed off.

Everyone froze and spun around, recognizing the voice. They saw the familiar figure of the one they were expecting less.

"Veronique!" Wakka exclaimed.

"Hey, brother," she said waving at him with a shy smile..

The SeeDs reached for their weapons but Carole spread her arm out, blocking the way.

"C-chan?" Kerry asked with a hoarse voice from crying.

Carole walked towards Veronique. She seemed unarmed, her whip rolled up on her belt.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

Veronique lowered her head a moment then looked up straight at her, trying to ignore the accusing stare of her brother on her and of others as well.

"The old tradition has to change. The summoners must not be sacrificed anymore."

"Oh, so now you care about others?" Wakka asked.

She turned to him and frowned, hurt.

"I always did! The reason I told you about Chappu was because I thought we could do something to prevent him from dying! You were so scared that I would be responsible that you were not even thinking about him anymore!!"

"You…"

"You don't know how it feels!!" she screamed, clenching her fists. "You only found him dead on the coast of Besaid, but who do you think brought him there?"

"Veronique?" Carole started thinking she began to understand.

"I saw him die, dammit! I knew he would die from the vision I had, but I didn't know when! From where I was after I left, I could see everything but I didn't make it in time to help him!"

Tears of fury started rolling down her face. The SeeDs were so moved they put their weapons away. She must have kept all this locked up inside of her for a long time.

"Don't you understand? I was born with this power, but that vision scared me to death! Instead of comforting me and telling me everything would be alright like you should have as my older brother, you kicked me out!! At first, I thought of watching over you two from afar but I failed! When I saw Chappu get killed by Sin, I hurried there! He was already dead when I arrived! The least I could do was take him to you so you could take care of the rest…"

She lowered her head. It asked a lot of courage out of her to tell all this. It was inside her for so long, buried deep inside. She finally said it. It felt like a burden off her shoulders. 

Lulu turned to Wakka, an interrogating way.

"Wakka…" she started, wondering what he was thinking.

But Carole talked before he would.

"I can't believe you've come at this precise moment just to say this."

"No, it's true… I'm tired of sitting back and watch people getting hurt, killed or others save the world… My parents were killed by Sin, my brother was killed by Sin… I'm not letting the last one I have as my family getting killed by it too! I want… I want to come with you!"

"What?"

"Yeah, right, you really think we're gonna let you come along?"

"After everything you did to us?"

"Stop it!" Carole commanded turning to them.

They stopped right away but still did not agree.

"Have you seen the future?" Carole asked. "Did you see… Wakka getting killed so you want to prevent it?"

Wakka felt scared for a moment and Lulu as well.

"No," Veronique answered. "Last time I saw the future was when I saw Chappu die… It was an accident back then, I didn't want to see it, but it got me kicked out of my home, so I didn't want to see it anymore. I don't want to see the future! It will become what we make of it! We have the power to change our own future!"

Carole crossed her arms and frowned at Veronique.

"You understand we can't trust you after everything you did."

"Yes."

"Will you send us back home?"

"Whenever you want. But I know that you also want to see this to the end. Even more now that you know Yuna is in danger. You can't leave her like this."

"Yeah, that's right."

"I want to come along! I want to fight, too! I want to avenge my parents and my brother! You want me to promise I won't ever do anything bad to you again?"

"No. I think promises can be broken. Action speak louder then words."

Veronique's face lightened up.

"Are you…"

"I'm ready to give you a chance, but the decision doesn't rest with me."

She turned to Wakka.

"What do you say, Wakka? Ready to give her a chance?"

Veronique turned to Wakka as well, in expectation but also in fear. She wouldn't plead, she didn't have to go so low. Wakka seemed uneasy, unsure.

"Ah… I dunno…" he started looking away.

"We must decide something quick!" Rikku interfered. "We have to get outta here!"

"Argh! Can I think about it?"

"Think faster!" Tidus urged. "We have to find Yuna!"

"Alright, you come, but only until I take a decision. I can decide that you leave anytime!"

"I want to thank you anyway. I won't be a burden! I assure you I can stand my own in a fight."

"Yeah, using others to fight for you…" Adam trailed off with a frown.

"Hurry!" Rikku urged. This way!"

Carole smiled. She knew it was the right thing to do.

"I understand your decision," Squall told her. "But the others do not agree with you, it may cause trouble."

"I'll take my responsibilities. I understand her motives and I don't feel anything bad in her. I think she still looks like a little girl who grew up alone."

She turned to him.

"You, better than anyone, should understand."

Squall closed his eyes and nodded.

"You're right. We can give her a chance."

Carole turned to the rest of the group and frowned, putting her fists on her hips.

"If I hear one negative comment about my decision, the one who said it will get my gunblade up his ass so fast he won't see it coming!"

"Strange picture…" Dave said with his face twisted with pain.

"Yeouch, she really mean it," Zell said.

"I still can't say I approve," Adam said.

"But I also feel nothing bad from her, so let's trust her for now, we'll see later on," Rinoa said.

The gang hurried through the door on the other side of the room. There was a bridge with a stair case on the end leading into a weird looking object. The place was dark so it made it hard to identify any better. Tidus and the other guardians hurried in, Veronique following and the SeeDs on her tail.

"Hey, doesn't it look like…" Rinoa started.

"No, it's impossible," Squall answered. "They don't have this kind of technology here."

"Technology for what?" Zell asked. "Doesn't it look like what?"

"Keep going, chicken-wuss."

"Hey!!"

Adam was sulking, eyeing Veronique all the time like he expected her to turn around and grant them an evil smile.

"Come, on, Adam," Rinoa said putting a hand on his forearm. "How can you hold a grudge against her since you don't even remember what she did to you?"

"It's because I don't remember I'm pissed! She did this to me!"

"Stop it this instant!" Carole interrupted.

They climbed the stairs and disappeared inside the structure.

Veronique has a smile of true joy. At last, she could walk around Spira freely and watch over her brother from a closer point of view. She looked behind her and saw Carole smile at her a cheerful way.

_You are going to need me soon, too. I am the only one who knows the truth, after all. I'm going to prove to you, to all of you, that I can be useful…_

****

A/N: I decided to cut it here. Hey, I realized I've been writing this fic for a year now! happy birthday! I never thought it would take so long, and it made me realize I'm going too slow! 

I would like to thank Ric Leonhart for being faithful to this story! To show you my gratitude, I'm gonna put a special attention to the Evrai part! I'm going to give it my all! Thanks to c-kai for joining in, and I hope you like it! To everyone, thank you very much, each review gives me the will to keep going and try even harder! I still (as usual) suggest that you all read more of my fanfics. After all, I got 15! But this one is the longest one so far! C ya in the next chapter!


	20. Chapter 19: The Test for Trust Begins

_A/N : I'm really, REALLY sorry for the far too long absence, people! (one whole year!) I hope that didn't cause me to lose too many of my fans! Ric, I got Evrae coming for you! The reason I didn't update is because I have discovered the wonders of FFXI. Truly a game that must be played, but it costs a lot. It costs your soul:p Anyway, enjoy this chapter! __J_

**Chapter 19: The Test for Trust Begins**

Everyone climbed in the large object and Cid hurried to a room closed with glass all around.

"Hu desa! Ku, ku, ku!" he urged running in.

Two more Al Bhed followed him in, one being Brother. Cid went right down a small set of stairs to a control panel. Brother went to the middle and sat down. The other Al Bhed went left.

"Three minutes mavd!" Brother exclaimed getting nervous.

"Rinno, rinno! Oui ryja one minute!" Cid warned.

Tidus bursted in the room, followed closely by the others.

"Where's Yuna?" he asked waving an arm out, frowning.

"Everyone on board?" Cid asked ignoring Tidus.

"Everyone alive!" The other Al Bhed answered him.

Tidus walked to Cid, still frowning madly and grabbed his shoulder to make him face him.

"I said, where is she?" he asked again.

He grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the floor.

"Answer me! Answer me, damn you!"

Everyone stared at him with surprise.

"Wow!" Zell let out.

Thinking he was going too far, Carole wanted to stop him, but Squall blocked her way, shaking his head.

"Let him do that," he said.

Cid looked back at Tidus, not even trying to get free.

"What'll you do when you find her, eh?"

Tidus released Cid and lowered his head, shameful.

"I...I...I didn't know anything about what a summoner is supposed to do," he said in a sad tone. "And I told her all those things without even knowing! I gotta tell her. I gotta tell her I'm sorry!"

"That's it?" Cid asked, frowning. "You're gonna tell her you're sorry? And then you just drag her to Zanarkand and make her fight Sin, huh? You're all the same; let the summoner die so we can leave in peace!" he screamed pulling Tidus over his shoulder.

Tidus landed on his rear and turned his head.

"No!" he objected, showing his hand before he got up. "I'm... I'm not gonna let Yuna die!"

"Huh! Words! Show me action!"

"I'm telling you, she won't die!" he assured in a determined tone, waving his arm out.

"Boy, don't forget those words," Cid said in a lower tone. "Cause if you do... I'm gonna make you regret it."

There was no doubt in Tidus's mind that he was serious.

"I won't," he replied pumping his fist.

Cid stood a little behind the middle seat where Brother was. There was a large blue sphere with some writings appearing all over it, moving around it.

The argument apparently settled, Carole turned around.

"Hey, where'd Veronique go?" she asked not seeing her anywhere.

"Well this room is small," Zell said. "Others stayed behind as well and went exploring a bit."

"As long as she is not around me, it's good," Adam said folding his arms. "I bet she tricked us again and she's gone."

Carole frowned at him, making him look away.

Tidus went to Cid's side, looking at the sphere too.

"So you know where she is?"

"'Course not! That's why we're gonna look! Using this Airship!"

"A... Airship?" Wakka exclaimed.

"An Airship?" Zell exclaimed as well.

"I thought it looked familiar."

The floor started shaking, startling the people on the bridge, almost causing some to lose their balance. An engine started somewhere on a lower level.

"Vydran, nayto du ku!" Brother told.

"Yeehaa! E vmekrd 1000 years ujantia!

Outside, the ceiling of the hangar opened in two, allowing sand to rain in. The Airship started taking off, gaining height as it got out of the underground hideout it was in.

"Whoa! Ed sujac!" Brother said like it was amazing.

"Necg pek, feh pek!"

Once it was high enough, the Airship started flying away from Home.

"Whoa! Ed vmeac!" Brother exclaimed.

Carole buried a laugh with her hand and she noticed Squall smiling as well.

"Of course, it flies," she whispered. "If it wouldn't, it wouldn't be an Airship."

"I guess that with the machinas being forbidden, they never saw anything like this."

Kerry was standing close to Carole, but she couldn't help looking all around. She never set foot in the Ragnarok, so all this was new. She never even saw Garden move either.

"Haqd, fa ica dryd!" Cid commanded.

Brother lowered his head and sighed, looking sad all of a sudden.

"Frydajan oui cyo."

He looked up and started singing the hymn of the fayth. Cid turned around and started singing along, walking towards the others. Rikku lowered her head, on the verge of tears.

"What's going on?" Wakka asked.

"What are they gonna use?" Carole asked.

Her and Squall being the only ones understanding some Al Bhed in the room, the others were even more clueless than they were. Seifer learned a little too during operation Mi'ihen but he was not on the bridge.

"We're... we're gonna blow up our Home..." Rikku answered.

"How?" Lulu wondered.

Everyone felt sorry for her, sharing the pain of losing her home.

"With one of the forbidden machina," Cid answered.

He turned to the guy down to the left pod. Apparently, it was the control for firepower.

"Nayto? Vena!"

Outside the Airship, a panel came down on each side, revealing small holes from which two dozen missiles were fired. They headed straight behind the ship and crashed into Home. It exploded and the wave from the blast spread around, catching up with the Airship.

"Watch the wave!" Carole exclaimed realizing too late.

The fire swallowed the Airship, causing it to start shaking and go randomly.

"Kyaa!" Kerry screamed holding onto Carole.

"Hold on!"

The inside of the airship was glowing red and the heat was getting intense. The airship was shaking. Brother managed to get control back and gave more speed. The airship got out of the ring of fire.

"Gah-hah-hah-hah!" Cid burst out. "Nadinh du cyrt!"

Brother lowered his head and started crying helplessly. Who would blame him? He just saw his home get blown up.

Cid walked behind him.

"No need for tears! What is good about machina is they can be build anew, you see?"

Wakka saw Rikku was pretty down too so he attempted to cheer her up.

"Hey, look!" he told her scratching the back of his head. "Don't get so down. Boom! Like happy festival fireworks, ya?"

Rachel slapped her forehead.

"How dense can you be?" she mumbled.

"You can cram your happy festival, you big meanie!" Rikku replied Wakka clenching her fists and frowning in the process.

She walked away from him and Wakka lowered his head, figuring it was pretty stupid.

"Why didn't I just shut my big mouth?"

Cid was standing in front of the big rolling sphere in the middle of the room while the guardians were scattered across the room. The SeeDs' gang was incomplete but the ones in the room were standing close to the door, looking around at that unknown technology, but still familiar.

Tidus was showing a strange face. He wanted to find Yuna quick so he could apologize but as Cid said: then what? Get her to Zanarkand so she gets killed? No way!

Knowing what he was feeling for she also lived a similar dilemma, Carole went to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I... I dunno. I just want to see Yuna again."

"We'll find her," Carole assured granting him a comforting smile.

He looked into her eyes, seeing only sincerity in them.

"It's gonna be alright. I feel it."

Tidus smiled back and nodded.

"You're right! I'm gonna do my best!"

He walked to Cid who was still watching the sphere like a kid who just got a new toy. He seemed pretty focused, but still pretty lost.

"Did you find anything about Yuna?" Tidus asked him.

"I'm lookin' into it, okay?" Cid told.

Tidus folded his arms and sighed.

"Don't worry, I'm using a sphere oscilla-finder. If she's out there, we'll get her."

"A sphere oscilla-finder?" Tidus repeated.

"It's an ancient machina," Cid explained. "I don't know how it works either so don't ask me, okay?"

"And you still use it?" Lulu asked with surprise.

Squall had a thoughful frown.

"I bet it works reading some wavelenghts in the air..."

"Maybe, but I bet they don't know anything about that," Carole replied.

Cid had a laugh.

"I don't really know how this rig flies, either!"

Wakka widened his eyes in fear, suddenly really nervous. But the SeeDs didn't seem the least bit worried.

"If anything goes wrong, you can ask us," Squall offered. "We are... familiar with these kinds of things."

"I appreciate it. All because of the Yevon taboo on machina, we're running around in the dark, here! Ain't it a rush, kiddos?"

"Yeah, that sucks!" Rachel let out. "These things are pretty damn useful but no one knows how to use them!"

Carole stretched up a bit.

"I'm going to check up on Veronique. After all, she is my responsibility."

As she started to walk out, Squall grabbed her arm, making her turn her head to him. He looked really serious. The others all turned to her as well.

"You be careful, ok?" Squall said. "If she does anything to you..."

"I thought you trusted my decisions. I said it's gonna be alright."

"It's not you we don't trust," Adam said. "It's her!"

"You say that because she brainwashed you and made you attack us," Carole replied.

"Well, she did make up a fake Squall that almost raped you..." Rachel reminded.

Carole turned to her and frowned madly, causing her sister to make a step backwards.

"Thank you so much for reminding me! For your information, she's also the one who told me how to get Squall back and offered to take us back home right away! We refused so we can still help the others! I know it's a risky move but can you just get along with that and shut up about it?"

Everyone looked away, still not really cool with the idea but deciding not to push their short tempered leader too far.

"I think I can hold her off if she tries anything on me, don't you think?"

Kerry stood next to her, a hand to her chest.

"Whatever you do, I'm with you, C-chan!"

Carole smiled warmly at her pupil, then looked at the others.

"Nice to see I got someone on my side at least!"

She left without another glance behind her. She past Auron leaning against the wall on the other side of the door. He traced her as she left the hall and she felt uneasy until she got out the other way. There was another hall, Kimahri standing there, his arms crossed on his chest. There was a door on a side, and on the other, there was more halls. Isaaru was standing in the middle of the hall, Maroda was leaning on the wall in front of him. His little brother, Pacce, was asleep on the floor, exhausted.

As she past them, she heard the door from which she came from open up, then she heard Tidus talking with Kimahri. After that, she walked through a door and left that hall, losing track of the conversation. On the other side, she climbed a set of stairs and came upon Rin, the Al Bhed merchant. She nodded to him and he waved with a smile.

She walked through another door at the end of the new hall.

"Damn this airship is huge! Nothing like the Ragnarok though."

She had a smile that turned into a sad face. She was homesick. As she past a door on the side of the hall, she shook her head. She promised she'd stick with them to the end, she would.

She didn't know why, she was walking her way into the airship like she knew exactly where she was going.

At the end of the present hall, close to the door, an Al Bhed woman was taking care of a child, sobbing about her doll left in Home. She had a thought for the poor kid and past the door that opened in front of her and closed behind her like the others all across the airship.

She walked up a new set of stairs and ended up on top, or so it seemed. There were large windows all around the side walls each side of the stairs. She walked around the stairs and to the end of that room, not paying attention to the few Al Bheds looking through the windows.

There was a platform at the end of the room. Once she stepped on it, the platform lifted her up. Then a large door opened up in front of her when the platform stopped. It lead outside, showing the blue sky. She carefully stepped out, immediately caught up by surprise by the strong wind blowing all around.

"Watch it or you'll fall. You should sit down."

Veronique was standing right in the middle of the place and didn't seem the least bit disturbed by the wind. Carole followed her advice and sat down, leaning against the structure.

"How can you stand like that?" Carole asked.

The sorceress was facing her her back, so she turned around, showing a smile.

"Well, I AM a sorceress, you know."

Carole nodded, thinking her question was pretty stupid.

"I know why you wanted to see me. You have lots of questions, and it's perfectly understandable."

"You gonna answer them?"

"Not all of them. There are some things still better left unknown. So ask, if I can, I'll answer."

Carole thought for a moment.

"Why are you hiding here?"

"Well, simple: some of your friends rather not see me too close."

"Hum... true..."

Feeling a little dumb on the floor, Carole got up and rested her back against the structure.

"Wha..." she started.

She didn't know how to voice her questions. There were many things she didn't understand, but she didn't know what it was so how could she ask about it?

"Is there anything wrong with me?" she asked in a low tone, her head down.

The wind covered her voice but Veronique still knew what she said.

"What, beside the fact that you're short-tempered, that you always take the burden on your shoulders so your friends don't get involved and that you hide your true feelings not to worry anyone?" She asked playfully.

"No, I'm serious! What is it you wanted with me?"

"What makes you think I wanted anything with you?" Veronique asked with a mysterious smile.

Her face itself was a mystery. Carole could look at her face all day and never figure out what she meant.

"I... I dunno! I always felt like you were watching me!"

"I watched you all, you know. What makes you think you're so special?"

Carole looked away and swallowed.

"I don't know... But can you answer that? Is there something wrong with me?"

Veronique had a smile that made Carole uneasy. She reminded her of an adult looking at a kid who just asked a grown-up's question.

"I can't answer that."

Carole widened her eyes.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you. Not yet. You are not ready to hear the answer."

The SeeD felt her heart beat faster for some unknown reason.

"What's inside me? What's burning inside me?"

Veronique shook her head once more.

"Can't tell you. Although I can tell you this: you don't have to worry about it for now. Focus on what's to come.Your friends can't afford to lose you now."

"What do you mean?"

"I said too much..."

She looked away, the wind playing in her long red hair. Carole left the safety of her spot on the wall to walk straight in front of Veronique, the wind not disturbing her anymore. This caused Veronique to look back to her.  
"Why don't you tell me? I'm sick of this! You're toying with me from the beginning! I feel you close since the beginning of it all! You know something I don't and it makes me sick! Tell me!"

Veronique smiled comfortingly.

"See how you react only knowing that I know something? What I know could be disturbing. For you and for all of your friends. Remember how you reacted when you learned Squall was not real after operation Mi'ihen? You shut yourself off. We have to save Yuna, now. We may have to fight, you wanna get everyone killed because you got something hard on your mind? You're better off not knowing for now, believe me."

Carole wanted to insist but gave up. Veronique was good with mysteries, she wouldn't say anything until she wanted to.

"You saw the future?"

Veronique shook her head.

"I don't look in the future anymore. Too painful. But sometimes, I can still feel some things. I know now is not the time for you to know."

"Will you ever tell me?"

"Yes. Later, you will have to know."

Carole gave an uneasy face. She was worried before about what could be wrong with her. Now she knew there was something wrong, just that she didn't know what. She could feel it before, but having it confirmed scared her even more.

Veronique placed her hands on her shoulders, causing her to jump up a bit.

"Get it out of your mind for now. If you think too much about it, you may end up killed."

Carole shook her head. She was right. She had to stay focused like the SeeD she was. But she was tired of all this...

"If I knew you better, I'd think you are worried about me..."

"Would that be so hard to believe? I care for everyone. I never wanted anyone killed and I still don't."

She made a wide smile that didn't have anything to do with her concern anymore.

"You'll see, I'll prove myself useful!"

Carole couldn't understand how she did that. Look all serious one second and cheerful the next one. She couldn't do that for one.

"Now go back before they think I pushed you off the airship."

Carole looked at her a while then turned around to go back the way she came. Once she was out of sight, Veronique sighed.

"It's getting harder. I won't be able to hold it for very much longer... I can at least ease her mind a bit..."

Once Carole was back down the platform, she felt light headed. She was not sure why she felt so worried a minute ago.

She walked back to the bridge, coming across Tidus on the way there. He waved to her.

"Hey, you found her?"

"Yeah, she was on the deck."

"Huh? Why?"

"Guess."

"Oh right..."

She looked straight in front of her while Tidus scanned her face.

"You okay?"

She shook her head and looked at him.

"I feel weird... Veronique said... some things and it gets to me..."

"She must be trying to mess with you again. She did that all along, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but that's not her plan right now. I asked her some questions she couldn't answer."

_Rather wouldn't answer..._

Tidus placed his arms behind his head and looked up.

"Oh, well. No use thinking about it like crazy, then."

Carole smiled.

"Yeah, right, like you're not thinking about Yuna right now."

Tidus' face slightly turned red and he looked away. Carole giggled at the sight.

"What? Can't I be worried?"

"Of course you can, but don't pretend you don't like her, now."

"Who pretended I don't like her?" he asked with a wink.

The girl couldn't help but laugh at his behavior. He was just the kind that you can't help but smile when you're around him. It's like his whole self was giving off an aura of joy.

"Don't you ever worry about anything?" she asked

"Well, I am worried about Yuna... If the Guado got her, she could be in danger, now since we killed Seymour..."

He frowned, clenched his teeth and his fists so hard, they started shaking. Just when Carole started wondering if he would not blow up, he calmed down.

"Hey, I'll help. We all will. After all, that is why we agreed to stay."

Tidus turned to her and smiled warmly.

"I really appreciate it, you know."

She smiled back, cheered by his smile.

"You know, I feel like we're more than just comrades. More than friends, too, see what I mean?"

Tidus arched an eyebrow and looked at her a questionning way, an amused smile on his lips.

"Huh... aren't you engaged?" he asked.

"No, that's not what I meant!" she replied with a laughter. "I mean like family."

She frowned, lost in her thoughts and scratched the back of her head.

"Didn't I say that before?"

"Yeah, I think so. Hehe. Yeah, you're my little sister I have to take care of!"

As he said these words, he wrapped an arm around her neck and held her close to him, not leaving her a chance to escape and barely enough space to breath.

"Hey! Let go!"

She was trying to break free but she couldn't help laughing at the same time, which was making it harder. He was so great. A little while ago, she was all worried and now, she was laughing light heartedly. And it was great.

As they were nearing the hall leading back to the bridge, they saw Kimahri, still standing by the door, arms crossed. The door opened and Rachel came out, looking around. When she caught sight of her sister, she tiped her head at her.

"There you are! Hey, there is something going on in there, you better come!"

Tidus immediately released Carole who stopped giggling and they followed Rachel in. Zell was right on the other side, but Auron was not anymore. In fact, his voice could be heard from the bridge, along with Cid's. It sounded like they were arguing.

Seifer and Audrey were also in that hall, the bridge being too small for them all to fit in. In the entrance, Dave and Quistis were there, and Irvine and Selphie joined up on the bridge.

"After rescuing Yuna, then what?" Auron asked as Carole and Tidus tried to make their way there through the others. "You want to keep her safe, correct? Would you seek to stop her pilgrimage?"

Once Carole broke through Dave and Quistis, she joined up with Squall, Kerry standing next to him.

"What's going on?" she asked him in a whisper.

"Shh."

"Of course!" Cid replied. "If she continues this fool pilgrimage, she will die! Sure as if you killed her yourself! No hare-brained law or teaching can send my little niece to her death!"

Tidus managed to break through as well.

"When I save her," Cid continued, "I'll make her give up being a summoner quicker than a desert melts ice!"

"Even against her will?"

"Better than a dog's death!" Cid insisted walking to the front. "And I'll take down anyone who don't agree!"

"You are the captain."

"Good! Then it's settled!"

Auron walked back out and everyone squeezed up to let him pass.

"Let him say what he wants," he said once he was at Tidus' level.

Wakka suddenly seemed shocked.

"He called Yuna his, uh, niece, right? I mean, so that makes her Al Bhed, right?"

"Wakka..." Carole started shaking her head.

"Don't say it! Yuna's Yuna, right?"

"No matter what happends, Yuna won't give up her pilgrimage," Lulu assured.

"Come on!" Adam exclaimed. "Isn't there anything we can do to stop it?"

"Yeah, with all of us, there must be something we can come up with!" Dave said from the entrance.

"First, we rescue Yuna!" Cid cut in. "Let's show 'em what we got!"

"Yeah!" everyone exclaimed raising their fists in the air, psyching up.

Zell punched his palm with his fist.

"Bring it on! I'm ready for action, now!"

He started punching the air, and kicking an invisible opponent in front of him.

"Quit it, Chicken-wuss!" Seifer said with a teasing smile.

Zell stiffened and turned to Seifer.

"What'd you say?"

Squall smiled. Just like old times. He turned his head to his bride-to-be and looked at her.

"So, where was she?"

"Oh, outside."

"What did you talk about?"

"Oh, not much, she said she'll prove herself useful."

Squall's insistent gaze on her made her feel uneasy for some reason, so she looked away, confirming his doubts.

"What else?"

"That's all, really!"

"You're lying."

"Am not!"

"Then why can't you look at me in the eye and say it straight?"

She lowered her head guiltily and sighed.

"She only added more questions to mine. She couldn't tell me anything, so I can't tell you more..."

She turned to him and looked straight in his eyes.

"I swear."

Kerry looked from one to the other, guessing there was a lot more in the air than it appeared at first sight. Squall finally blinked and smiled warmly.

"Yeah, I believe you."

His hands trembled half a second like he didn't know what to do, then he gave in and hugged her tight. Kerry felt uneasy watching them even though they were only hugging. Carole hugged him back as tightly. Both had their eyes closed. Anyone looking at them could tell that then again, there was more than what they could see in the air.

"Don't leave me," Squall whispered in her ear only for her to hear.

"What's with this all of a sudden?" she asked back in a whisper.

"Just promise me. I want to hear you promise me you'll never leave me..."

"Squall..."

Before she could answer, a beeping sound was heard from the main control panel that caused them to break apart and turn to Brother.

"Vydran! Fa vuiht Yuna!" he exclaimed.

"Frana?" Cid asked.

"He found her!" Carole translated for the others.

"E femm cruf oui!"

"Yuna?" Tidus called.

Alerted by the calls, Auron came back in as well.

In front of them, an image appeared showing the top of a tower in a city with long bridges connecting together. Yuna was standing on a large platform, her hair piled up on the back of her head, wearing a long sleeveless white dress, white boots and white gloves. There were flags with Yevon's symboles floating all around. Plus, someone was holding Yuna's hand. It was Seymour! At least it looked like him. Then the image disappeared.

"Oh, my God!" Carole exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Where was that?" Tidus demanded.

"The Palace of St. Bevelle. Heart of Yevon," Lulu answered.

"Gramps, let's move!" Tidus urged.

"Easy, kiddo," Cid advised. "Bevelle's defenses are top-notch."

"Yeah, we're running right in the middle of the enemy territory, here!" Zell added.

"What's the matter, gramps?" Tidus asked a teasing way. "You scared? Yuna's there, so we go and get her!"

He turned around to the others and smiled.

"And that's all!"

Carole raised her thumb at him.

"I'm with you!"

"Heh! You got guts!" Cid said. "Cad luinca du Bevelle! Vimm cbaat yrayt!"

"Nukan!" Brother obeyed.

Brother gave a boost to the Airship, the sudden speed causing many people to lose their balance. The SeeDs, used to it, managed to find their balance, but others, like Tidus, dropped down. Tidus slid on his back to Cid's feet. Cid put a knee down next to him.

"It'll take a while to get to Bevelle. Meanwhile…"

Tidus got up and stood on a knee, resting a forearm on his other knee, his other fist on his hip to look cool. Zell put a fist up along with him.

"We prepare for battle!" They said at same time.

Squall shook his head in discouragement. How could he be so dumb at a time like this? But then, he couldn't be really mad. Zell just wouldn't be Zell without the dumb act. And Tidus would not be Tidus for the same reason.

Zell and Tidus looked at each other and laughed. Then Tidus turned to the other guardians for preparations.

"The city of Bevelle is built on water," Lulu told him. "You or Rikku should study your magic, just in case."

Carole turned to Squall with birth of fear on her face.

"Did you hear that?"

Kerry didn't seem too easy with this either.

"I can't fight in water…" she said.

"No one will fight in water if it goes well," Squall tried to reassure.

_What if it doesn't go well?_ Carole thought.

Frowning thoughtfully, Wakka joined with the other guardians.

"I'm glad Yuna's okay and all, but what's with those fancy clothes?" he asked.

Lulu turned to him.

"It's called a wedding dress," she told.

"What?" Wakka exclaimed in surprise and shock. "Grrr… What's going on?"

"She's not marrying Seymour, is she?" Kerry asked.

"Well it looked that way to me," Squall said.

"But what's Seymour doing alive?" Rikku asked with surprise. "Didn't we take care of him in Macalania?"

"I was about to ask the same thing," Adam said. "He seemed pretty dead to me."

"He is dead," Auron said. "As dead as Jyscal was. His attachment to this world kept him from the next."

"Whoa, scary!" Rikku said.

"You mean he's a ghost?" Rinoa asked.

"We call people in this case Unsent. Yuna must be trying to send him."

"Wonder if that will work." Rikku said.

"Perhaps he won't expect it."

Rikku raised her fist, cheered up.

"Yeah! We're gonna save Yunie, and nobody's gonna stop us!"

Everyone in the room and outside who heard her, cheered up along. A little action for the SeeDs was welcome although some were not completely at ease. They couldn't put their finger on what was annoying them. Veronique's presence on board, Seymour still standing, but dead, Yuna in danger? They couldn't say. But as they learned from their training, personal feelings must not get in the way, that's when accidents occur. Although their female leader made it to where she was because of her feelings regarding some matters, especially towards her male companion, some SeeDs were still attached to Garden's way of thinking.

Without warning, the Airship started shaking, like struck by something. Everyone was startled and some lost their balance. Kerry held on Carole who was held by Squall and others held at the closest wall to them. If they didn't have a wall to lean onto, they dropped down.

"What was that?" Rachel exclaimed taking Zell's hand to get up.

A blonde Al Bhed, Rin came in, immediately followed by Veronique. Some changed faces when they saw her. Even when she appeared more concerned than Rin.

"We're being attacked from within," Rin told. "Some of the Guados that attacked Home must have snuck on board."

Cid ran around the sphere in the middle and frowned at Rin suspiciously.

"You're awfully calm about it!"

"I am calm about most things," Rin replied.

"No use panicking about it, now." Squall advised taking his formal tone, giving up his easy pose.

Cid looked at the floor, very serious.

"Fiends… There's nothing to do, but-" he started.

"But destroy the ship and go down together!" Rikku finished jumping in, in front of her father, mimicking his tone.

Cid looked so pitiful at the moment that some barely held bursts of laughter could be heard across the room.

Rikku turned to Cid and reached for her head, shaking it with a sigh of discouragement.

"You gotta learn a little restraint, Pops."

She walked towards the door.

"If you crash the ship, we can't go rescue Yunie!"

Tidus has joined up with Squall, Carole and Kerry and Rikku joined in with them, turning around to her father.

"Leave the fiends to us professionals!" she said placing her fists on her hips, raising her head up.

"Yeah, let's go!" Tidus said pumping his fist as he turned his head to Carole and Squall. "Right?"

"Right!" Carole said, saluting.

Squall nodded and Kerry had a smile.

"Don't forget about us!" Irvine called from the hall. "We're with you too!"

"Thanks," Rikku told them all.

Rin walked in and bent over in the middle of the small group, his hands on his back.

"Rikku, you've made some good friends, I think. Good luck," he added placing a hand on Tidus' shoulder.

After a few more words of encouragement to the team, Rin left the bridge.

Ignoring the glaring at her from all around the room, Veronique stepped in, ignoring the ones pressing themselves against the walls each side of the hall to keep clear of her as possible.

"I want to help too!" she said.

Carole looked at her and smiled.

"I would have been disappointed if you wouldn't have asked."

Veronique's face lightened up.

"This Airship is pretty big, we should spread around," Tidus suggested.

"Good idea," Squall agreed. "It's not like we can get lost around it."

"Let's clean the garbage around and meet up on the upper level before the exit on the deck," Carole said. "Any objections?"

It sounded like a fair enough strategy. Most people, especially Adam, were only hoping not to get to team up with Veronique. Wakka cut in that problem when he joined up with them, apparently having trouble with something he wanted to say.

"Hum… Veronique, you can come with us if you want."

He looked elsewhere as he talked, like he didn't want to see his own mistakes on her face. He gave it much thinking and he came to understand that he did a mistake in the past. Veronique was but a child when she told him of Chappu's death. The more he thought about it, the more clearly he remembered what happened that day. She was in a panic, tears of fear all over her face, telling Wakka they had to do something. And what did he do? He panicked and threw her out and forgot about her. She used people from another world to cross his path and watch over him in her place until she decided to do it herself.

"What do you mean?" she asked, not sure to understand.

He took a deep breath and looked at her.

"I took my decision, ya? You stayin'. And while we clean up that place, you come with me, ya?"

Just for half a second, something past over Veronique's eyes that only a trained eye could have spotted. Being the closer ones to her, Squall and Carole both saw it: joy. She didn't let it show, because it was not the time. The words to describe how she felt didn't exist. A light shone in her eyes for a second as well and a smile lightened her face even more. That was as much as she allowed showing.

"I will not disappoint you, I promise!"

Squall turned to Carole with a sorry look on his face as everyone was hurrying outside.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you. I now believe you were right. I don't feel anything bad from her either."

Carole smiled warmly at him.

"Don't worry about it. I'm getting used to people not agreeing with my decisions. As a leader, I have to think for my team. I took responsibility, but I rather have Veronique close to us so we can watch her, than risk her following us from afar and get killed. After all, she is our ticket home."

"I thought about that too."

Carole looked at Veronique who hurried outside behind Wakka.

"She sure looks happy."

"She has a chance to prove her usefulness."

"Hey, come on or there won't be anything left for us!" Kerry called from the door.

"Right behind ya, K-chan!"

"There's another one that looks happy," Squall said with a smile.

The two quickly followed behind. Squall had something itching in a corner of his mind, like there was something he wanted to say, but he couldn't remember what. He shrugged it off, thinking maybe it wasn't that important. He's forgotten Carole didn't promise him she'd never leave him…

Lots of monsters were roaming free around the place. Bombs, Evil Eyes and Dual Horns attacked the youths restlessly. They split up in smaller groups to avoid getting in each other's way. Seifer went with Audrey, Dave and Quistis down the stairs to clear the way. Weapons out, everyone stood ready.

Squall waved out and looked at Wakka, that serious look on his face he always had when he was fighting.

"Wakka, you get going. We'll clear up behind you!"

"Aye!" Wakka answered with a thumb up.

He went ahead with Veronique, Tidus, Auron, Lulu, Rikku and Kimahri. They past Isaaru's brothers on their way.

"Be careful," Maroda advised.

The remaining SeeDs and their friends turned to Squall. Even Carole did. When he was around, she always trusted his decisions regarding fighting.

"Let's make sure no monsters or Guados remain on board. There are civilians around after all."

Nodding from the team.

"Don't think about summoning, it's too small in here to do it."

"It's pretty obvious!" Rachel stated.

Squall looked around, deciding of the team arrangements.

"I'll go down after the others with Carole, Kerry, Irvine and Selphie. Zell, Rachel, Rinoa and Adam, you go through every single room you find and clean them up. We'll clear the halls of any monsters the others could have missed."

"Where do we meet up when we're done?" Rinoa asked.

Squall had to admit he had no idea how the airship was. While the others explored, he remained on the bridge the whole time. That's when Carole came to his help.

"Down these halls, there is a set of stairs that leads up to the deck. Let's meet there, you can't miss it."

"I guess that's settled, then," Squall said with a smile. "Alright, team! Move out!"

The SeeDs saluted their leader and split up. Squall, Carole, Kerry, Irvine and Selphie ran down the hall, feeling the adrenaline start boiling. They paid attention to every little noise that didn't have anything to do with an engine or other mechanical stuff.

A Guado came out of nowhere right in front of them and summoned two Bombs and a Dual Horn before running away, apparently only trying to buy some time. Squall pointed at the Bombs.

"Irvine, shoot the Bombs down! Selphie and Kerry, you go after the Guado, don't let him get away or this will never end! Carole and I will take care of the Dual Horn!"

"Roger!" they all replied.

Selphie looked at Kerry and smiled widely.

"Let's do this, Kerry!"

"Okay!"

The girls ran ahead while their teammates kept the monsters busy to keep them out of their way.

Irvine shot the Bombs with his Exeter. They only managed to grow once each before they were brought down. On the gunbladers' side, the Dual Horn didn't know which one to attack first. Strikes seemed to be coming from all directions at once, not to mention the shots from the gunblades. After Squall cleared out of the way, Carole went for it and pulled the trigger. She was surprised to hear a faint 'clic' from it. She pulled back.

"Damn! I'm out of ammo!"

"Don't worry, I've got plenty left for the both of us!" Squall said.

He jumped in the air and brought his gunblade down with full strength, delivering the final blow as he pulled the trigger.

He sheathed his gunblade and walked towards Carole, looking for something in his pocket. The girl seemed pretty upset, cursing herself.

"I'm so stupid! That's a basic for gunblade users: always make sure the gunblade is loaded!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself. What, it's the first time you do this, right?"

"I never forgot before…"

Irvine put his gun on his shoulder and joined them. At that moment, Kerry and Selphie came back.

"Well, in my case, I can't afford to forget since my gun is useless without ammo. But you still got a blade with no ammo."

Squall handed Carole a few bullets. That was the one thing about gunblades. Even though the model changed, the bullets were always the same, so unlike Irvine's gun that could use different ammo, all gunblades used the same ones, so no need to start looking the world over for specific bullets.

"We got the Guado. I knocked him on the back of his head with my nunchaku, and Kerry finished him off. He never saw it coming!"

Kerry smiled proudly at Selphie.

"You sure will be a nice adding to SeeD, K-chan!" Selphie said.

Kerry blushed slightly.

"Well, I still have a ways to go…"

Carole loaded her gunblade. Squall's gunblade had a barrel, but she didn't. Hers was like Seifer's. She loaded a compartment in the handle and pushed it in until she heard it lock up.

Squall looked at everyone, making sure no one was hurt so they'd be ready to leave.

"Alright, let's go!"

The team moved out as they heard other teams come in. They had a room to check in that hall so they would catch up later.

They encountered a few more monsters and repeated the same strategy most of the time. Sometimes, Irvine would shoot down the Guado before he could escape, or Selphie and Kerry would run after him.

They kept running down the halls when Squall turned to Carole.

"How much further?"

"Right through that door! It's the stairs that lead up to the elevator that leads outside!"

"Cool!"  
They went through the door and almost bumped into Tidus and the others who were standing on the other side.

Tidus turned to them and waved.

"Hey, guys! What took you so long?"

Carole pushed her hair back and shrugged.

"We were held a bit back there."

She turned to Veronique who looked like she never was happier in her entire life. Wakka was even standing next to her and he didn't seem the least bit troubled with it.

Auron looked at the youngsters and at the door.

"Where are the rest of your friends?" he asked.

"Checking the rest of the ship for fiends," Squall answered. "They should be here soon."

The old guy nodded and climbed the stairs. Everyone followed him right away. As they climbed, Carole joined Veronique.

"So, how did it go?" she asked.

"It worked better than I expected. It's like he trusted me completely! He never complained on my fighting and never tried to interfere either. He even told me I was pretty good."

"Well, I'm happy for you," Carole ended with a warm smile.

The sound of a door opening caught their attention and they saw Seifer, Audrey, Dave and Quistis come in. When they noticed their friends were already there, they hurried upstairs as well. Shortly after, came in Zell, Rachel, Rinoa and Adam. Adam and Rinoa immediately caught sight of Veronique so they climbed the stairs less eagerly than the others.

There wasn't much room next to the windows, so they had to spread around a bit. Auron was standing to the end of it, looking outside.

"Huh, now there's a rare sight," he said.

Everyone closened in on him to see what he was talking about. When Tidus placed his eyes out, he had a move backwards in surprise. There was a giant winged snake following the airship.

"Whoa, that's huge!" he exclaimed.

Rikku crouched down in front of the window while some were trying to see over the others.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Looks like a monster to me!" Zell told.

"Can't you be any more obvious?" Seifer said. "Of course it's a monster, stupid!"

"Give it a rest, you two!" Squall scolded with a frown.

He turned to the guardians as Zell started sulking, turning his back on Seifer and folding his arms.

"So, what is that thing, exactly?" he asked. "I don't think it's flying around here to get some fresh air."

"It's the guardian wyrm, Evrae," Lulu answered.

On the other side of the glass, the flying monster flew down out of sight. Kerry pressed her face on the glass to try and see where it went but it disappeared in the clouds.

"The great sacred beast – protector of Bevelle!" Lulu added.

Auron chuckled.

"The red carpet has teeth."

"Wait, that means we're close to Bevelle!" Tidus understood.

"Rikku, you read me?" Cid's voice called in the microphone.

Rikku got up and everyone looked up at the ceiling.

"We're gonna fight that thing! Get on deck and show him what you got! Go!"

"There he goes again," Rikku said.

"The ferryman asks a high price," Auron commented.

They started heading for the elevator when Squall stopped.

"Wait a minute."

Everyone stopped and turned to him.

"What's the matter?" Zell asked. "Let's go!"

"I don't think we should all go, we're gonna get in each other's way."

Auron looked around at how many they were.

"Good point, we're too many."

"Some will stay behind and double check all the rooms in the ship for anymore hidden Guado," Squall commanded.

"Good idea," Carole approved.

She looked to Kerry next to her and gave her a smile.

"I want you to stay here, K-chan. I would feel safer knowing you're inside."

Kerry nodded promptly, slightly sighing with relief. She was glad she didn't have to go outside.

"I'll stay with her," Selphie suggested. "I don't think I'm gonna be very useful against that thing."

"I'll stay too Sefie," Irvine said placing himself next to her.

"No, you go. You got a gun, you can shoot it from afar, you're gonna be needed."

"She's right, Irvine," Squall said.

Irvine shrugged.

"If you say so, Commander."

Squall looked at his team mates, thinking who would be useful and who would be better inside. He knew they were many, but he didn't want anyone to fear they would be useless.

"I don't want to force anyone into going or staying, so I'm asking volunteers. Who wants to stay?"

Audrey moved forward.

"I'm staying inside. My twin circles are good at close range, but shit in long range."

"I'd like to have a piece of it, but I don't know if I could even touch it," Dave said a little reluctantly. "So I'll stay in too."

"Me too," Quistis added.

"Arrrgh! Dammit!" Zell exclaimed punching the ground. "Guess I stay in too."

"Well I'm going," Rachel said. "I never get to fight tough guys!"

The ones who were to stay inside moved away from the others, standing in front of them.

Squall turned to the rest of them.

"Ok, let's do this!"

"You be careful, you guys," Dave advised.

The others nodded and they climbed on the platform leading outside. As it went up, Kerry waved at them, wishing them good luck.

"Any ideas how to beat that thing?" Seifer asked.

"Let's just get there first, we'll see then," Squall answered.

The elevator stopped and the door opened. Everyone stepped out and at that moment, the giant wyrm broke through the clouds next to the ship. The sides opened to reveal the holes from which the missiles that destroyed Home were shot.

"We gotta keep our distance, boys," Cid's voice told. "But we can't let her get too far away. You all have to tell me when to move!"

Evrae dived under the clouds again as they were getting ready, taking their weapons out and focusing. Then it suddenly rose up right next to the ship, roaring, causing Rikku to hold her head with two hands in surprise and fear. Then Evrae disappeared again.

"But tell me quick, eh? This rig ain't so nimble, you hear?"

"Roger! I'll give the commands!" Tidus screamed to cover the sound of the wind and the airship's engine.

"Not alone, you won't!" Rikku added, psyching up next to him.

Evrae was right next to the ship, leaning over it so close it could touch it and reach for the fighters. Its clawed arms slashed in, not bothering picking a specific target since there were so many. Tidus got hit and lost his balance a moment. Evrae packed quite a punch and was very painful.

"Are you okay?" Carole inquired.

"Augh... Better take it from afar if possible. Go back! Farther away!" he screamed for Cid to hear.

"Just a minute!" his voice echoed in the microphone.

"Attack it with all you got before the ship moves!" Auron said.

The bladers went in and slashed all they could while Rinoa was healing the wounded.

The ship started shaking.

"Don't be falling, now!" Cid warned.

Everyone crouched down to avoid falling overboard while the ship put some distance between Evrae and them. Once it stopped, they got back up.

"From here, the long range fighters take it over."  
"Ya!" Wakka said taking his ball out.

Adam armed an arrow in his bow, Rinoa readied her Blaster Edge and Irvine loaded his gun. The others felt a little left out.

"Magic will be helpful, too," Lulu told. "If you all have some to spare..."

"And don't be afraid to summon if you want to," Auron added. "No one will know here except for us and we already know you can do it."

"Hey, that gives me an idea!" Seifer said as his face lightened up.

As the others turned to him to know what was his idea, Evrae unleashed a series of attack that reached a random area of the deck, dealing small damage but to many people at same time.

"Keep it busy, I have to focus!"

The shooters obeyed right away, throwing and firing their weapons at will. Seifer remained behind, a hand in front of his face, his eyes closed in concentration.

"Come, Cerberus!" he called as he finished summoning.

The graveyard appeared and the three-headed dog released its special technique. Double and Triple for everyone. His job done, he vanished along with the graveyard.

"What... what was that?" Rikku asked in fear.

Squall turned to Seifer and smiled approvingly.

"Good thinking, Seifer!" he praised before turning to the guardians to explain. "Cerberus used Double and Triple on us all. It allows everyone under those spells to cast 2 or 3 times in a single shot."  
"While it's gonna be far from us, being able to cast more than just one spell should be helpful."

"A nice little trick," Lulu said.

She unleashed three –ra spells she had. It did not matter much which ones, because unfortunately, Evrae was protected against all elements, only receiving half the damage it would have normally caused.

The SeeDs who couldn't use their short range weapons started casting spells along with Lulu while the long range fighters were going all out.

"This is it!" Cid's voice said. "I'm hitting it with all we got!"

The airship started shaking a little when all the cannons shot simultaneously. The missiles flew to Evrae and exploded on contact, compensating their lack of damage.

"Ah, yeah!" Zell exclaimed. "Do that again!"

_Master, call me, allow me to bring you my aid,_ a voice rang deep in Squall's mind.

He nodded and put his gunblade back, focusing on the summoning. Evrae unleashed its multiple target attack again so Carole moved in front of him to keep him from being disturbed. She used a protect spell on herself to reduce the damage.

In the trance state preceding summoning Squall was in, he didn't notice. He opened his eyes and waved his hand out.

"Come forth, Bahamut!"

A huge shadow appeared in the clouds and broke through them to fly up in the sky, traced by everyone.

"Even after all this time, it's still impressive," Squall whispered.

"Yeah..." Carole trailed off.

The King of Dragons came back down with his wings folded and flapped them a little over the airship to slow his fall. He flapped to keep up with the airship, on the side opposing the one where Evrae was. The SeeDs expected the Mega Flare attack, but to their surprise, it didn't come.

"What the?" Carole let out, surprised.

"I have been thinking since our arrival in this world," Bahamut said.

Everyone froze, listening to him. His voice was deep, but clear. Some would have expected more of a growling, but he was using perfectly understandable words.

"I am not standing by and watch any longer. I will help. I shall carry you to the enemy so you can keep fighting in close range."  
"Say what?" Irvine exclaimed.

Squall had a smile and grabbed his gunblade.

"Great! I was afraid I wouldn't have anything left to do!"

He ran to the edge of the airship and jumped off to land right on Bahamut's back. He sat over his arms, but the large shoulders made it a little complicated. Squall ended up kneeling, squeezing the dragon's spine between his legs. It was safe enough.

"I can still take more people," Bahamut told.

Squall turned his head towards Carole and they had an accomplice smile. The girl grabbed her own gunblade and jumped on Bahamut's back, behind Squall. She was on her knees, right under the arms. Her legs were resting on the junction of the wings and the back which made it a little uncomfortable, but unless she would be very careless, she would not fall.

"You okay?" Carole inquired worried about weight.

Bahamut was quite large so it was close to nothing to him.

"You can add more."

Squall looked back at the airship, wondering who would want to come along. Seifer was standing there, looking at the two on the dragon's back.

"Ah, heck!"

He frowned and jumped behind Carole. Squall turned around as much as he could to look at Seifer.

"Welcome aboard."

"I want a piece of this, I'm done watching you always be the hero!" he replied with a smirk.

"If there's room left..." Rachel started.

Carole looked back at her sister with a little surprise. Since Rachel became a SeeD, she did not participate in many missions, and the ones she attended were far from dangerous. Carole's field exam was tougher than everything her sister ever participated in. At that moment, though, with her two blade hand axe, she looked pretty confident and determined.

Carole turned her head to Squall who looked at Bahamut. The dragon turned his head to the girl on deck and nodded. Rachel showed a proud smile and jumped behind Seifer. She was just over the rear legs.

"I will be careful not to make anyone fall, you all focus on the target," Bahamut said.

"Wait!" Rikku exclaimed before the dragon would take off. "The Airship can fire missiles, if you're there, you're gonna get hit too!"

The four youngsters on Bahamut's back looked at each other.

"Damn! Couldn't someone give us a sign when it's about to shoot?"

"I'll do it," Rinoa offered. "When Cid is ready to shoot, I'll tell you telepathically."

"But, Rinoa... we're no longer..." Squall started, unable to finish his sentence.

Rinoa had an understanding smile.

"I know we're not linked anymore, but we were once, so I can still talk to you, you know. I'm gonna tell you before the ship shoots so you can tell Bahamut to get out of the way."

"Sounds fair enough. Let's do this!"

Bahamut flapped his huge wings and flew towards Evrae who saw a threat in the dragon immediately. He tried to bit him, but Bahamut was swift despite his passengers.

"Attack it, I will simply keep it from hurting you. My scales are hard, it won't hurt me."

The four fighters held onto the scales of the back with one hand to slash at Evrae with their other hand.

"This is it!" Cid's voice said. "I'm hitting it with all we got!"

"Now!" Rinoa's voice echoed in Squall's mind.

Bahamut put some distance between Evrae and him before Squall even said anything. The reason was pretty obvious: Bahamut was junctionned to Squall so he could hear in his mind too. Squall frowned at the thought. So all the GFs junctionned to him could know at all time what he was thinking about. Enough to make him stop thinking at all.

The airship released a dozen missiles at the same time which hit Evrae and exploded on contact. The people still on the deck were cheering.

"Alright!" Tidus exclaimed. "That did some damage!"

Lulu kept casting spells after spells, while the shooters were firing at will. Busy dealing with the dragon flying around it, Evrae didn't even pay any attention to them at all. Veronique did her best as well, casting spells to her heart's contempt, something she never did before.

After a moment, the airship was ready for another volley of missiles so Rinoa signaled Squall again and Bahamut moved out, allowing the missiles to reach Evrae for major damage once again.

"Keep at it!" Squall cheered the others. "A little more!"

The dragon riders slashed all at same time, watching the monster be hit by the long range weapons. It was covered with arrows, bleeding from bullet holes and bruised from Wakka's ball. It was also suffering from many burns, colds and shocks. Bahamut was flying around on the side opposing the airship so the others would not be afraid to hit them by mistake.

The riders were running on adrenaline. The feeling of the wind in their ears and clothes, brushing their faces was thrilling. Not to forget the height, which would cause their death would they fall. Bahamut's scales were pretty hard, making it easy for them to hang on without worrying about hurting the GF.

Another signal from Rinoa made Bahamut move out again. As Bahamut flapped his wings to get out of the way, the missiles came raining. Evrae shook up and wiggled its tail towards Bahamut and his riders. Bahamut stiffened up to avoid the tail. Squall cramped his arms in his neck to avoid falling backwards. Carole hanged on him while Seifer cramped his heels in Bahamut's spine. A very small and faint scream was heard behind him, but the other three all heard it. They turned their head just in time to see Rachel as she fell backwards, a look of terror in her face. Seifer stretched out to her to try and catch her but his hand closed around her axe, around the blade, cutting through his leather glove. Rachel let go of her axe and fell down.

"Rach, NO!" Carole yelled leaning over.

Squall grabbed her to keep her from falling along.

"Shit!" Seifer let out holding the axe in his hand.

From the airship, the others saw everything.

"Oh, my god!" Rikku exclaimed reaching for her mouth. "Someone is falling!"

"Who is it?" Tidus asked.

"It's Rachel!" Adam exclaimed widening his eyes in fear.

Veronique ran to the edge of the ship, thinking of what she could do. Rinoa bent over and spread her Angel Wings. She flapped them and jumped down the airship. She folded them as she dived, head first to gain speed and catch up with Rachel. Everyone was watching on the edge, holding their breath.

As she was falling, Rachel was thinking she would not see the end of this and never go back home. She thought that at least, she tried something hard. She was only sad she would die in the process.

Something above caught her attention so she looked up and recognized Rinoa. She extended her hand towards her and Rinoa did the same. The moment their hands touched, they closed tight, nothing would have made any of them let go. Rinoa pulled on Rachel's hand to take her closer and held her close to herself.

"Gotcha!" Rinoa said smiling to the scared girl.

"Thank you, Rinoa! I owe you one!"

Rinoa flapped her wings to stop their descent and flapped some more to go back up. Rachel hanged on tight.

As they made their way back up, the others all traced them and cheered up.

"Alright!" Tidus exclaimed raising a fist.

"Way to go, Rinoa!" Adam added.

On Bahamut's back, Carole breathed out, feeling her heartbeat slowly go back to a normal pace. Squall squeezed her hand on his shoulder a bit and smiled at her.

Rinoa came up flying next to Bahamut but Evrae saw her and tried to attack her. Weapons and spells came flying.

"Leave them alone, you overgrown snake!" Irvine screamed as he fired some more.

"Yeah! Get over here!" Adam said as he shot another arrow.

"Come on!" Wakka added.

Lulu raised her hand and cast another spell.

"We're out of ammo?" Cid's disappointed voice said in the microphone. "This really isn't my day..."

"Not to worry, pops!" Rikku exclaimed raising a fist. "We won't need anymore!"

Rinoa closened in on Bahamut when Evrae turned its attention to the deck fighters. It even went back to the side of the airship to be closer to them.

"Now you're talking!" Tidus said tightening his grip on Brotherhood.

Auron followed his example and both bladers slashed like mad.

Seifer moved to where Rachel was earlier so she would sit behind Carole, in front of him.

"There, this way you won't fall again."

Rinoa got Rachel close so Carole and Seifer both grabbed her to sit her down.

"Come on, Seifer, it's not like it was your fault."

"I should have caught you back. Lucky Rinoa acted quickly or you'd be dead by now."

Squall had a teasing smile.

"Aww, so you care."

Seifer looked away, a blushing slightly.

"Well, I just don't want to see Chicken-wuss get all teary. We don't need a crybaby in this."

He handed Rachel her axe back. As he did so, she saw the blood dripping from his glove.

"You're bleeding!" she exclaimed.

"Bah, catching a blade by hand tends to do that," he said with a light smile.

Rachel grabbed his hand and took his glove off.

"Ow! Watch it!"

She stared at the cut while Bahamut was flying closer to Evrae so the other two would fight it from the other side.

The cut was pretty deep. She figured her axe was pretty sharp but judging from how deep it was on his fingers, it was obvious he grabbed it hard. She was moved by the fact he tried to save her. She never expected him to be that way, but then again, wasn't it simply normal to keep someone you travel with, fight with, and hang with from dying?

"You're lucky I let go of it. If I would have held on, the blade would have slashed your fingers off."

"Maybe."

She held her own hand over his.

"Cure!"

The blood dried up and the cut closed up. Seifer raised his hand to his eyes and examined it. He closed and opened it a few times to test it out.

"You know, I thought I'd be used to that by now, but I'm not."

Rachel giggled.

"You could have done it yourself though."  
"I thought I'd let you feel sorry for me and do it."

She laughed a little more. Seifer took on an embarrassed look which made he laugh even more.

"I'm ashamed to admit it, but I don't have any cure spells junctionned."

Rachel laughed again and was joined by Squall and Carole. Seifer frowned at them.

"Hey! I'm not the one traveling the world over to gather spells as I save the day!"

"Maybe you should, then," Squall told as he slashed at Evrae once more.

"Whatever..." Seifer trailed off as he slashed and pulled the trigger in the process.

Evrae threw its head backward, readying a skill.

"Watch out!" Veronique exclaimed.

She placed herself in the middle of them all and raised her hands over her head, forming a barrier around everyone on deck the moment Evrae released his Stone Gaze ability. It bounced off the barrier, keeping anyone from turning to stone.

Wakka turned his head to her and nodded approvingly. Veronique felt a wave of pride come up. She proved useful, just like she said she would. And she would continue.

She dropped the barrier to allow the others to go at Evrae again.

Evrae cast Haste on itself.

"Ah, great!" Seifer complained. "Not only doesn't this thing die, now it's quicker!"

"Don't give up!" Rinoa exclaimed from back on deck as she shot her shooting star.

"Keep at it!" Squall added from Bahamut's back.

Evrae opened its mouth and released a poison breath that Veronique didn't have time to shield from them. It brought everyone on deck to their knees.

"Guys!" Carole called.

Irvine gave off a red light and he got up. He loaded his gun with many pulse ammo and released Hyper Shot. Beams of light hit Evrae a couple times before he ran out of energy and went back on his knees. Rinoa cured him right away. Then it was the Guardians' turn to go Overdrive. Tidus used his spiral cut, jumping and back flipping before bringing Brotherhood down on Evrae. Rinoa cured him right after. Auron raised his sword and brought it down, doing his Dragon Fang overdrive. A blast of fire came up from under Evrae. Kimahri released Fire Breath, managing some damage of his own. Rinoa kept curing but she couldn't follow. Rikku mixed two potions together to make an ultra potion, which proved pretty useful, bringing everyone back to their full health. It was Lulu's turn to go overdrive. She released a series of Thundara spells one after another, keeping Evrae from moving at all.

Evrae growled and threw its head backwards, showing difficulties to stay in the air. It started losing altitude as it slowly turned into pyreflies.

"Way to go!" Carole exclaimed slapping her sister's held out hand.

"We did it!" Rikku exclaimed.

The riders climbed off Bahamut. Squall turned to it while the others were rejoicing at their victory.

"Thank you for your assistance," Squall said.

"I am happy to be of service to you."

He nodded his head and vanished back to his own dimension.

"That was awesome!" Carole exclaimed behind him.

He turned to her and watched her hair messed up by the wind. He had an uneasy feeling for some reason but he couldn't get what it was. He couldn't bring himself to smile as he saw her enthusiasm while she was praising Veronique and the others as well.

"What is it..." he asked himself in a low tone. "What's on your mind that you're not telling me?"

He could tell even though she looked happy and all psyched up, she was bothered by something. He wouldn't be much of a boyfriend if he couldn't tell when she was hiding something. Although the others didn't seem to notice, he did.

His thoughts were disturbed when the airship started shaking a worrying way.

"Cruud!" Brother's voice said. "Fa'na mucehk bufan!"

"Rao! E caa Bevelle!" Cid replied.

"Oh, shit..." Carole breathed out.

"Hang on!" Rikku exclaimed. "We're losing power!"

"You gotta be kidding!" Rachel said.

The airship was flying over the clouds, touching them before it suddenly gained height, flying straight towards the sun. The people on deck laid down to keep from falling. The airship stopped gaining height, losing it instead and it broke through the clouds while everyone was hanging the best they could, holding onto whatever they could.

**_A/N: Yay! Done at last! I hope you liked it, and I'm really sorry for the delay. I know I don't have much more to go, but I got a major writer's block for a while. I got some parts already all planned up though, like the fight with Yunalesca. But until then... I'll have to keep writing. Cya in next chapter ;)_**


	21. Chapter 20: Infiltrate Bevelle

**Chapter 20 : Infiltrate Bevelle**

Down on Bevelle, bells rang. High above the surface of the water, two bridges coming from right and left met in the middle to lead to a set of stairs leading north. From those two opposing bridges, came Yuna and Seymour, walking to the middle. Both were escorted by Yevon Priests each side and behind them. From where she was, Yuna could see Seymour and she peeked at him, not stopping. She wore a white transparent veil on her head going all the way down to her feet.

Once the two met in the middle, they stood side by side as the priests prayed and moved aside. Yuna and Seymour walked up the set of stairs with priests behind them and some standing each side of the stairs. That's when pyreflies started raining above their heads.

Maester Kinoc looked up at the phenomenon and frowned. He spun around and gestured for soldiers to stand ready. A few moved forward with guns in hands. There were quite some of them and they had machina as well.

On the deck of the airship, the ones who stayed inside during the fight against Evrae came out to inquire about the following of events.

"We can't land, they won't give us the chance," Rikku told. "The ship will shoot harpoons and we'll slide down the cables."

"What?" Adam exclaimed. "How do you expect us to do that? I'm not a SeeD, I'm not exactly in the best of shape to surf down a cable!"

"You want to stay here?" Lulu asked him.

Kerry, happy to join with her mentor again, showed some concern as well. Kimahri walked up to her and held his hand out to her.

"Kimahri can take Kerry again if Kerry wants to."

Kerry's face lightened up.

"You don't mind, Kimahri?"

Kimahri shook his head. He also grew a liking in the girl and he already had her with him a few times so once more wouldn't hurt.

Carole smiled to her friend.

"Well, that's settled for you K-chan. But even though I'm a SeeD, I can't say I'm comfortable with this either..."

"Allow me, then," Veronique said walking in the middle.

Everyone turned to her, which made her a little uncomfortable to have so many people looking at her at the same time.

"I... I can use my power to keep you from falling down the cables. Well, maybe not for everyone, though, so if any of you are comfortable with this, tell me, I want to know who to focus on."

All the guardians except Lulu were fine as they were. Zell was okay as well, just like Squall and Seifer. Carole was a bit unsure, but she had this feeling she could do it on her own. Dave wanted to try on his own too, building up confidence to be sure not to fall. Irvine and Selphie assured they could do it alone too. Lulu, Rachel, Quistis, Audrey, Adam and Rinoa would have to trust Veronique even though for a moment, Adam seriously considered staying onboard. Veronique looked at him and gave him the best look she could have.

"I know I can't ask you to forgive me for what I did to you, but right now, I want you to trust me. I will not let you fall!"

She turned to the others without leaving Adam a chance to reply.

"And I will watch you all too so if any of you look like he's gonna fall, I'll interfere."

"Won't it be a little too much for you?" Carole inquired with a bit of concern.

She was not worried about her friends, rather about how far Veronique's powers could go. She thought back about all she did already and decided this was probably not much compared to some stuff she did.

"Ok, here goes!" Rikku warned.

The ship broke through the clouds and through the pyreflies. At the sight of the threat, Kinoc gestured forward.

"Fire!"

The soldiers started firing at the airship as it came flying right next to set of stairs. Seymour grabbed Yuna's hand.

"Come," he commanded as he pulled her up the stairs to where Mika was standing.

The ship was so close it blew off Yuna's veil. It shot two large harpoons in the ground near the end of the bridge, far from the stairs. But the ship could not move as it was at that moment. The people on deck jumped off on the cables and started sliding down, Kerry on Kimahri's shoulders, the others with their knees folded like they were surfing. They had to stay low to avoid the gunfire from the soldiers trying to stop them.

The cables crossed one another so to avoid falling, Tidus who was first, jumped over it to get on the other one with a big smile on his face. The cables didn't cross too far so the others could avoid it to most of them's relief.

Almost down, they jumped off the cables. Above, the airship shot the cables to snap them off and it took off, leaving the kids on their own.

Up the stairs further ahead, Yuna moved forward as she recognized the ones who just dropped in. Seymour stopped her, not allowing her to go anywhere.

There were soldiers all over the bridge and the group was far from Yuna. Tidus frowned.

"Yuna!" he called and started running.

The SeeDs looked at each other, still running on the adrenaline they got as they were sliding.

"Was that the coolest, or what?" Zell asked with a wide smile and shining eyes.

"We can discuss that later, we have to hurry," Squall told.

He tipped his head towards the way Tidus left and started running, everyone following close behind. Carole had a second to look at Veronique and nodded at her with a smile. She even caught a glimpse of Adam doing the same a little reluctantly.

A couple of soldiers moved in to block their way. Tidus took out his sword, ready to fight when Squall elbowed him aside, moving in with his gunblade in hand.

"Out of the way!"

He attacked right away, bringing the surprised soldier down in a flash. When he turned to the second one, he saw Carole strike him down as well. She put her gunblade on her shoulder and winked at him. Squall had a little smile then turned to Tidus.

"You go ahead to Yuna, we'll cover your backs."

"But..." Tidus started.

"No buts!" Carole cut him raising her palm to his face. "She's right there and now, she needs you so just go! We're fighters, so let us handle the fighting."

Tidus pumped his fist.

"You better join up with us, then!"

"You betcha!"

Tidus ran forward after waving at the couple and the other guardians followed after him. Once again, Veronique was not sure which group to tag with. Wakka stopped in his tracks and turned his head.

"Veronique, come on, ya?"

She smiled and turned to Carole.

"I guess that's my answer."

"Go," Carole told her. "And thanks for helping us down by the way."

"Oh, I didn't do much, really."

She stuck her tongue out playfully and went after the guardians.

Squall turned to the rest of his team.

"I want the shooters to aim ahead of the guardians to distract the soldiers. Then we run in and finish them."

"I like this plan," Irvine said loading his gun.

Everyone readied their weapons and ran after the guardians as well.

A couple of other soldiers stood in Tidus' way, forcing the guardians to stop to fight when an arrow came flying down on one and a bullet was shot at the other. Seconds later, Zell came jumping and pummelled one of the soldiers while Rachel slashed the other with her axe. Zell turned his head to the guardians staring at them.

"What are you doing, keep going!" he said.

Tidus shook his head and nodded. He looked up the stairs further ahead and pointed at Seymour.

"Stay right there, Seymour!"

He started running again.

"We're coming Yuna!" Rikku added.

When the guardians came across a couple of soldiers holding flame throwing guns with a flying machina behind them, they thought they would have to fight when Quistis' whip broke one of the soldier's neck while Dave slashed the other one with his katana. Rinoa shot her blaster edge at the machina and the guardians ran right under it.

Coming across another machina that was hopping on a foot, Tidus slashed it in the process to distract it. He kept running taking a look behind and saw Carole and Kerry come at it. The girl held her thumb up towards him and he smiled. They were close now.

The machina took Carole by surprise when it kicked her up and then as she came down, it kicked her back, causing her to lose her breath.

"C-chan!" Kerry called as she saw her be thrown behind.

The SeeD girl dropped onto a couple of her friends which included Irvine and Adam who tried to catch her. The machina packed such a punch that they both fell backwards with the girl on top of them. She started coughing, unable to move even though the two guys were hoping she would move off them at least.

Squall finished the machina off and turned around in a flash. He saw Adam and Irvine hold Carole straight as she was holding her throat. He ran to them and kneeled next to her.

"What's wrong?"

"I think she got kicked in the stomach," Irvine told.

Squall rubbed her back gently.

"Calm down, breath slowly."

The girl closed her eyes and tried to focus, to calm down even though she was scared because of the lack of air. Eventually, the pain in her stomach wore off and she took deep breaths. Kerry came closer at that moment.

"Is she okay?" she inquired.

"Yeah, she's gonna be fine," Squall said helping his girlfriend up.

Carole's face was covered with sweat and it was red. The others joined up with them.

"This is going smoothly," Seifer said.

"We're not done yet," Squall said looking ahead.

The guardians made it to the stairs and started climbing when guns were shot right at their feet, stopping them dead in their tracks.

"Shit!" Carole let out as she hurried there.

The others hurried after her.

"This has gone far enough!" Kinoc warned pointing a gun at the guardians.

Tidus stepped forward but Auron held his arm out to stop him.

"Stop," he said.

Tidus looked at him, then Auron lowered his arm. The others caught up with them and were forced to stop seeing the guards pointing guns all around them. They were surrounded.

"Damn, we're trapped," Zell stated.

Tidus moved forward again and Kinoc pointed his gun straight at his throat. Carole wanted to help, but she knew it would only endanger everyone.

Tidus only had eyes for Yuna up the stairs. She took her staff out from behind her back. She held it horizontally with two hands and moved to Seymour's side. He looked at her, amused, while she was frowning.

"What is she doing?" Audrey asked.

"You would play at marriage just for a chance to send me?" Seymour asked her. "Your resolve is admirable. All the more fitting to be my lovely wife."

Some pyreflies appeared around Seymour and started moving around him as the sending started. The others were all staring.

"Stop!" Mika interfered walking forward. "Do you not value your friends' lives?"

Yuna held her staff out and Tidus made a move forward, Kinoc's gun still pointed to his throat.

"Your actions determine their fate. Protect them or throw them away! The choice is yours."

Yuna turned to her friends, looking at the guns pointed at them from all around. She looked at her guardians, at the SeeDs and their friends. She had fear in her eyes as she looked at the gun pointed to Tidus' throat even though he was still frowning. Yuna lowered her head and her arm holding her staff.

"Yuna, no..." Carole whispered.

She dropped her staff which rolled down the stairs, all the way to Tidus' feet. He traced the staff falling down then looked back at Yuna, concerned about what would happen next.

"You are wise," Seymour said with a smile.

Yuna didn't have a choice. Seymour walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking at her with a victorious smile. Yuna stared right back at him. Down the stairs, Rikku brought her hands up to her face in helplessness, moaning as she looked around for someone to stop this. Lulu turned her head away, refusing to see this. Rachel widened her eyes, fearing she knew what was going to happen.

Seymour caressed Yuna's face with a hand while Wakka was holding his breath. Seymour bent down towards Yuna as Tidus tried to move forward again, but guns can be pretty persuasive in making you stay where you are. Yuna looked up at Seymour, giving in when his face reached hers and they kissed, eyes closed, under the approbation of Maester Mika. Bells started ringing again and some clapping was heard. Yuna clenched her fist so hard it was shaking. Tidus saw it and he frowned madly. He was not the only one.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Kerry whispered next to Carole.

"This is so wrong," Carole added in a whisper.

The others all had similar thoughts on the matter.

Once Yuna and Seymour broke apart, he held Yuna close to him as she turned her head away.

"Kill them," Seymour said with disgust tipping his head towards the crew downstairs.

"Ahh!" Yuna exclaimed widening her eyes and bringing her head up.

Kinoc strengthened his grip on his gun pointed at Tidus' throat, forcing him to keep his head up.

"I'm sorry, but it is for Yevon," Kinoc said.

"Aren't those weapons forbidden by Yevon?" Auron asked.

"There are exceptions," Kinoc replied turning his gun to Auron.

The air was getting heavy. Squall wrapped a protective arm around Carole while other guys of his group did the same with their girlfriends or just stood in front of them. Veronique didn't know what she could do, that would not endanger them. She could disappear, but then what? Leave them alone was out of the question.

Yuna broke this uneasy heavy moment with a scream of warning.

"No!"

Everyone turned to her. She moved backwards while they were busy so no one noticed her. She was standing close to the edge of the platform. The long behind of her dress was dangling over the edge already.

"Throw down your weapons! Let them go, or else..."  
She made a few more steps backwards, a hand reaching for her chest. She was right next to it. Seymour gestured and Kinoc pulled his gun back. Not too sure at first, Tidus looked around then hurried upstairs with Rikku. Carole broke free of Squall's grip and followed them along with Kerry.

"Carole!" Squall called before going after them.

"Leave now! Please!" Yuna begged.

"You coming with us!" Tidus objected.

"Yeah, come on!" Carole added.

"Don't worry! Go!" Yuna assured.

"This is foolish! If you fall, you'll die," Seymour stated.

Yuna wiped her face with her forearm, frowning.

"Don't worry. I can fly," she said with a calm smile.

Tidus shook his head, worried and scared.

"No, wait!" Kerry said. "How?"

"Believe," Yuna said.

Reluctantly, Tidus slowly nodded. Yuna smiled and joined her hands to her heart. She let herself fall backwards.

"Yuna!" Tidus called reaching his hand out.

"Lady Yuna!" Kerry called in fear.

Seymour hurried to the edge and looked down with a frown. A magic circle appeared around Yuna as she was falling head first with her hands on her chest, unafraid. She looked at the sky and reached her hands out to it as Valefor appeared and flew down to her. It stopped right under her, wings spread, facing the sky, allowing her to land on it safely. She looked at it and it looked back at her like to see if she was alright. Then Yuna looked up at the tower from which she fell from and Valefor went away, taking her with it.

Up the tower, Rikku took something out of her pocket.

"Cover your eyes!" she warned.

She threw a metallic object on the ground that Seymour watched until it exploded in a blinding light, forcing him to cover his face. Screams of surprise and pain were heard. It was time to make a run for it.

"Wh... what was that?" Wakka asked in disbelief as they started running down the stairs.

"An Al Bhed flashbomb!" Rikku answered.

"Wow!" Selphie said. "Pretty useful!"

"Lemme go!" Tidus said. "I'm gonna kill that Seymour!"

"Yuna said leave! We leave!" Kimahri insisted.

"Come on, Tidus!" Squall hurried him as well.

"We'll join up with her later!" Lulu told.

"Break through!" Auron said.

They ran all the way down the bridge, non-stop until they ended up in front of a circular building. There was nowhere else to go.

"Where'd Yunie go?" Rikku asked as they climbed down the stairs facing the building.

Squall looked around to be sure everyone was there and unharmed. Some got pretty scared and nervous back there, but no one was hurt. They all looked at the guardians to listen to the answer of Rikku's question. Where Yuna went, they would go.

"Bevelle Palace is temple," Kimahri told. "Yuna goes to one place only."

"The Chamber of the Fayth!" Tidus understood right away.

He spun around and hurried inside the building, immediately followed by the others. Inside, they found themselves in a dark room, facing a set of stairs circling down like forever along the wall. Tidus climbed down a few steps with Lulu behind while Rikku and Wakka stayed a little farther. Auron and Kimahri were still in the entrance, slightly blocking the way for the others. Squall managed to pass between the two, Carole on his tail while the others were simply wondering why they were all standing there instead of moving forward.

"It's too quiet," Lulu noticed looking around. "A trap?"

Tidus turned to her and waved his arm out, hasty.

"Who cares? Yuna's waiting for us!"

Rikku looked at a strange device right next to the wall, where the stairs began.

"Huh?" she let out as she walked towards it.

She tried a few flashing buttons on what appeared to be some kind of control panel. Suddenly, a deep sound was heard somewhere far away like something had just been started up.

"Isn't that…?" Carole started.

"What's a machine doing in the temple?" Wakka wondered in shock and surprise.

"I suppose it comes in handy," Rikku replied.

"That's not what I mean!" Wakka exclaimed unable to believe it. "The teachings! What about the teachings?"

"Hey, don't look at me!" Rikku said.

"Not this again," Zell whispered in a grumble behind Kimahri and Auron.

Rachel discreetly elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shush! You know what Carole thinks about this!" she whispered to him as a warning.

The control panel activated a small part of the top of the stairs and the rest of it turned into some kind of rails, leading the first part of it to the bottom much faster than simply by foot. It was not large enough for everyone though, so they stepped on the sliding platform a few at a time, going all the way down, then they disembarked while the platform would slide all the way back up to take the rest of their comrades down with them.

Once everyone was downstairs, they came upon yet, another machine. Rikku went to a panel next to a strange door that appeared to be made out of energy. The others stood back and watched, while Wakka was completely outraged.

"Another machine?" he said as Rikku figured how to get the door to open. "Man…"

The road was cleared and everyone stared at it.

"Good job, Rikku!" Selphie exclaimed.

"So this is Yevon's true face," Auron realized. "They betray their own teachings."

Wakka sighed with discouragement.

"They treated us like dirt," he mumbled.

On the other side of the door, was a hallway at the end of which, was another staircase leading down to a small bridge. The room was huge with bridges all around, up and down with doors here and there on the walls. The gang paused on the bridge in front of a door in the wall.

"The entrance to the Trials," Lulu told.

"I wonder if Yunie's really in there."

"Let's go and see!" Wakka pressed.

"Let's go!" Lulu agreed.

She walked ahead first and everyone followed.

The SeeDs felt a little uneasy entering the temple like this. Last one they went in was the one in Macalania and it was not the best memory they shared.

On the other side of the door was a bridge with a small pillar facing a round platform on the floor, at the end of the bridge. Curious, Tidus pushed the pillar with a sphere on top of it and it sunk in the floor, causing a glyph to appear and take them down under into the strangest place. The floor seemed to be made of light at certain points, and the glyph was sliding on them, following them like a train follows rails.

This trial was quite complicated but there were more than enough people to solve it together. Of course, the platform wasn't large enough for everyone so they had to do it a couple times. Eventually, they all made it to the upper level which was in fact, the same than where they started, except they were on the other side. They followed the bridge leading to the circular room preceding the Chamber of the Fayth.

"Yuna?" Tidus called as he stepped in.

Wakka turned to him and pointed the door to the Chamber behind him.

"Inside, maybe?"

Tidus walked to the door blocking the Chamber, determined.

"Then what are we standing here for?" he asked.

He looked at the door a moment and clapped his hands together before crouching down to grab the lower part of the door. He started trying to pull it up with force groaning, but it didn't move.

"H… Hey!" Wakka called, shocked.

"You can stuff your taboos!" Tidus exclaimed still trying to pull up the door.

The SeeDs had a smile. Finally someone who would defy those stupid teachings. Yuna was on the other side of that door, so Tidus was going to open it, and go to her. Some were thinking about giving him a hand when Kimahri appeared at Tidus' side, causing him to stop and turn to him. The Ronso grabbed his side of the door and helped Tidus pull it up. This time, it worked.

Seeing it move caused the SeeDs and their friends to let out triumphant cries. Once the door was high enough, Kimahri turned his head to Tidus and nodded. Tidus nodded back with a smile and slid under the door, causing the large petals on the other side to move out of the way. Tidus entered the Chamber of the Fayth, greeted by the sound of a young boy's voice singing the Hymn. He stopped right behind Yuna, on her knees, praying in front o the ghostly form of a child vaguely familiar to Tidus. The boy was hovering over a dome protecting a statue of a creature half-man, half-beast.

"Wh… What's that?" Tidus asked.

"A faith," Auron answered behind him.

Tidus turned to him.

"They join with the summoner, and together receive the aeon. They are human, imprisoned in stone by ancient Yevon rites," he explained as Tidus slowly walked around Yuna. "The dead should be allowed to rest."

The ghostly figure bent over and flew towards Yuna. It turned into pyreflies before entering her body, causing her to stiffen and collapse.

"Yuna!" Tidus exclaimed hurrying to her side.

He placed an arm under her back and looked at her with concern. Auron had a smile and left discreetly. Tidus took the unconscious Yuna up in his arms and took her outside.

"Wait! Don't come out!" Rikku's voice warned.

"Stay in there, Tidus!" Carole added.

But Tidus came out with Yuna in his arms only to find out that Kinoc and the Yevon guards caught up with them and were surrounding them. They all had their weapons in hands, ready to fight, unafraid, even Kerry after all she saw.

"There's the last of them," Kinoc said. "You are to stand trial."  
Auron chuckled.

"I expect it will be a fair trial," he said.

Kinoc laughed a little as well too.

"Of course it will."

"Like hell it will," Zell hissed between his teeth.

"Shh," Carole warned. "We're gonna get in more trouble."

"What more trouble could we possibly get?" Irvine asked in a low tone as well.

Kinoc turned his head to a few soldiers and gestured towards the gang. The soldiers went to seize them.

"The High Court of Yevon is now in session," a deep voice said.

An old Ronso was standing at the front of a huge court room, Mika behind him.

"The sacred office of this court seek nothing but absolute truth, in Yevon's name."

Yuna was in the middle of the room, looking up at the Ronso who was standing on a level over hers. The ceiling was a dome of glass allowing the stars to shed light inside.

"To those on trial, Believe in Yevon, and speak only the truth."

"Maester Kelk Ronso," Lulu told the others on a level behind Yuna.

Most had their arms folded and were simply waiting, certain whatever the results would be, it would not be favourable for them.

"Summoner Yuna," Kelk called. "You have sworn to protect the people of Yevon, true?"

"Yes."

"Then consider: You have inflicted dire injury upon Maester Seymour Guado, conspired with the Al Bhed and joined in their insurrection."

Seymour was standing on an upper level to the side and Kinoc on the other side.

"These are traitorous and unforgivable crimes that disturb the order of Yevon. Tell the court what possessed you to participate in such violence."

Carole rolled her eyes.

"This is ridiculous…" she whispered.

"Your Grace," Yuna stated. "The real traitor is Maester Seymour! He killed his father Jyscal with his own hands!"

"What is this!" Kelk exclaimed in surprise.

He turned around in search of an answer. Seymour looked at him.

"Hmm?" he let out. "Haven't you heard?"

Rachel widened her eyes in disbelief.

"He's not even gonna deny it!"

"Not only that," Yuna continued. "Maester Seymour is already dead!"

"It is a summoner's sacred duty to send the souls of the departed to the Farplane!" Lulu interfered. "Yuna was only doing her job as a summoner!"

Behind her, Rikku nodded and the others kept their arms folded.

"Grand Maester Mika… Please, send Seymour now!"

Kelk moved aside to allow Mika to move to the front.

"Send the unsent to where they belong?" he said reaching for his chin.

"Yes!"

Mika started laughing, but he was the only one. Nobody understood what was so funny.

"Maester?" Yuna asked starting to feel uneasy.

"Send the dead… hmm?"

He started glowing and pyreflies felw around him, causing Yuna to frown with surprise and shock.

"Holy shit!" Carole let out.

"The hell?" Zell exclaimed.

"You would have to send me, too," Mika said.

"What!" Wakka exclaimed with a frown.

"Grand Maester Mika is a wise leader. Even in death, he is invaluable to Spira," Kelk explained.

"Enlightened rule by the dead is preferable to the misguided failures of the living," Kinoc added.

"Life is but a passing dream," Seymour said, "but the death that follows is eternal."

"Men die. Beasts die. Trees die. Even continents perish," Mika continued. "Only the power of death truly commands in Spira. Resisting its power is futile."

"But what of Sin?" Yuna asked with a hand clenched to her chest. "I am a summoner, my lord, like my father before me! I am on a pilgrimage to stop the death that Sin brings. Are you… Are you telling me that, too, is futile?"

She lowered her head, feeling deceived. She moaned and shook her head.

"Grand Maester Mika, I am not alone!" she said as the platform she was on started rising. "All the people who have opposed Sin… Their battles, their sacrifices… were they all in vain?"

She could not believe this. Was everything she was taught a lie?

The SeeDs felt cold shivers run up their spines. It was a little like for SeeD and the real goal behind the training: defeat the sorceress.

"Not in vain," Mika replied. "No matter how many summoners give their lives, Sin cannot be truly defeated. The rebirth cannot be stopped. Yet the courage of those who fight gives the people hope. There is nothing futile in the life and death of a summoner."

"Never futile… but never ending," Auron said.

Mika nodded.

"Indeed, that is the essence of Yevon."

"Lord Mika!" Yuna called almost a pleading way.

"Yevon is embodied by eternal, unchanging continuity, summoner."

"No… that can't be right!" Yuna objected.

"Those who question these truths," Mika said, raising his arms. "They are traitors!"

"Lord Mika!" Yuna begged.

But it was over. The Maesters remained deaf and the summoner, her guardians and their friends were all taken away without any other consideration. The guardians were too shocked to reply and the SeeDs knew what it felt like and fighting back would only endanger everyone else. Carole was mostly thinking of Kerry in that matter. Veronique followed as well, knowing the best course of action was to wait for the moment.

_The time will come…And when it does, I will be with you, guys._


	22. Chapter 21: the Spiral of Death

**Chapter 21: The Spiral of Death**

A while later, everyone ended up being separated from one another. In a large room filled with cages hanging from the ceiling with chains, Tidus was locked in one of them with Auron and Zell. Most of the cages were empty, but in another on the other side, Squall was locked in with Irvine and Quistis. Most were just sitting on the floor of their cages, but Tidus refused to simply behave, no way. He was pulling at the bars and screaming.

"Get me outta here! I want out! You hear me?"

"You waste your breath," Auron said resting his back against the bars.

Tidus stopped pulling and kicked the cage, annoyed. He turned around and sat down.

"If this would do any good, I'd have done it a long time ago," Zell said.

Tidus groaned.

"Man, I hope Yuna's okay."

"Hmm. She's strong. She'll make it."

"She'll make it? What, so she can die?"

Tidus sighed, and Zell punched the floor with a metallic sound from his gloves.

"I hope everyone's alright…"

He got up and grabbed the bars to look at the opposing cage.

"Hey Squall! Have you seen where they got the others?"

Squall got up and looked at Zell, shaking his head helplessly.

"No… I want to think everyone's okay, but… I can't help but worry."

"Calm down, Squall," Quisits advised. "Getting all worked up over this isn't going to help anyone. We have to stay focused; we still don't know what awaits us."

"I guess you're right," Squall gave up sitting down again and folding his arms.

Zell clenched his fist so hard it started shaking.

"Damn!" he exclaimed sitting down heavily.

He looked around.

"I hate being in prison…"

His forearms on his knees, Tidus looked up and sighed again.

"Why is it that everything in Spira seems to revolve around people dying?"

"Ahh, the spiral of death," Auron answered.

"Huh?"

"Summoners challenge the bringer of death, Sin, and die doing so. Guardians give their lives to protect their summoner. The fayth are the souls of the dead. Even the maesters of Yevon are unsent. Spira is full of death. Only Sin is reborn, and only to bring more death. It is a cycle of death, spiraling endlessly."

Tidus let out a heavy sigh that Zell took over.

"This place is completely screwed up! I can't wait to have this over so we can get back home! I'm gonna stuff my stomach on hot dogs until it bursts!"

"Like that would be new," Irvine stated from the other cage with a smile.

Quistis put her hand in front of her mouth to bury her laughter and Squall's lip lifted slightly in half a smile.

Zell folded his arms, sulking.

Squall lowered his head and his eyes caught sight of the shining eagle around his neck. He unfolded his arms and gently took it in his leather gloved hand. As he did, Carole's face flashed in his mind with a gentle smile. He closed his hand around the eagle and held it tight, shutting his eyes. A hand on his shoulder caused him to open his eyes and turn his head. Quistis was looking at him a comforting way.

"I know you're worried, Squall, but she must be too. You have to stay strong."

"It's not fair; she shouldn't even be mixed up in all this."

"Nobody should be, Squall."

"Remember how everyone got thrown in battle when the Renegades attacked? She had just recovered that same morning. Now this… I'm not even sure if she's really alright, there seems to be something wrong. She seems scared for some reason and she won't even tell me what's wrong. Either she doesn't know herself or…"

"Or she doesn't want you to worry."

Irvine looked at the two.

"You should trust her a little more than that, Squall. She's stronger than she looks."

"I know, but she tends to place other people's well-being before her own."

Before anyone could say anymore, Kinoc came in the room walking on a footbridge in the middle of the cages. He stopped in front of the one where Tidus, Auron and Zell were locked in. Everyone turned to him, waiting.

"Come out," he said. "Your sentence has been decided."

"Sentence?" Auron asked. "Don't you mean execution?"

Zell was frowning but kept quiet.

"Really, now, what person would execute a dear friend?" Kinoc asked with a smile in a fake tone.

"You would," Auron replied coldly.

Everyone got separated once more and Tidus was taken to a room only lightened by a torch in the corner. Half the room was a pond filled with water. He was standing right over the water with a guard pointing a gun to his back. Two more guards were aiming at him just behind the first one.

"Looks like you're next!" the guard said.

"Next for what?" Tidus asked turning his head to the guard.

He pushed the blond guy with his gun, sending him in the water.

"Whoa!"

"Get going!" the guard said.

"Where's everybody else?" Tidus asked as the guard left.

"Floating down there somewhere, maybe."

Out of options, Tidus started swimming down the way when he came upon Wakka.

"Oooh! You made it!" Wakka said with relief.

He closed in on Tidus and gave him a high five. Rikku came swimming behind Wakka. Dave, Selphie, Zell and Audrey followed closely.

"What's our sentence?" Tidus asked, clueless, looking at the others.

"Think they expect us to give up and die down here," Wakka answered.

"Well we'll show them they're sadly mistaken!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Where's Yunie?" Rikku asked.

"I don't know," Tidus answered.

"Wonder if we should wait for her…"

"Could we wait someplace drier?" Dave asked.

"Right, let's find the exit and wait there," Tidus approved.

"If there is an exit," Rikku said looking at the ceiling.

"Well if there is none, we'll just have to make one," Zell replied raising his fist.

Meanwhile, Mika, Seymour and Kinoc were talking in the court room.

"How fares the Ronso maester?" Mika asked.

"It seems my father's murder troubles him.

Mika put his hands behind his back and laughed.

"Ever the Ronso. Hard-headed, hardly useful."

"However," Seymour interfered. "The summoner Yuna, daughter to High Summoner Braska… She may be of some use to us alive."

Mika turned his back to him and walked to the edge.

"She has disturbed the order of Yevon. She cannot be allowed to live."

"I understand," Seymour said, bowing.

"Let it go, Seymour," Kinoc advised. "No one thrown into the Via Purifico has ever survived."

"Yet there is always a small chance that they might," Mika said holding his chin, thoughtful. "Place guards at the exit. Kill any who emerge."

"Sir," Seymour asked bowing again. "Leave that to me."

Mika reached his beard, amused.

"First your father, now your bride?"

"Allow me to do this because she is my bride."

"Wait, I will go, too," Kinoc said.

"You do not trust me?"

"Would you trust a man who murdered his father?"

"Very well," Seymour gave in turning to the door. "As you wish."

_Lady Yuna, forgive me._

Yuna found herself in a dark cave, alone. She looked around and behind her, saw the entrance, blocked with a barred gate. She noticed someone right next to the gate, on the ground and walked to that person. She recognized Kerry right away, her arms around her knees, a little concerned, but unharmed. Yuna crouched next to her, seeing the younger girl didn't seem to notice her.

"You just arrived, didn't you?" Yuna asked gently.

Kerry was slightly startled but seemed highly relived to see a familiar and friendly face.

"Yes, I did. I was too scared to walk forward, so I just stayed here. I was once told that if you're lost somewhere, you have to stay where you are for people to find you."

Yuna smiled.

"Yes, that is correct, but on the other hand, if everyone lost stays where they are, then nobody will find them and they won't find anybody. We are trapped here, so what do you say we try to find our way out? Maybe we can find the others in the process."

She reached her hand to Kerry who looked at it a moment, then at Yuna's smiling face. She took the hand.

"You're right Lady Yuna. If I want to be a SeeD, I can't depend on the others all the time. Since you lost your usual guardians, let me be it for the time being."

She got up and showed determination.

"Alright, Kerry. I'll lead the way and you watch my back, okay?"

"Okay."

Where the girls stood, there were four possible ways. Ahead, right, left and behind, but behind was the gate. Yuna headed right to start. They came upon a few monsters, but Kerry was determined not to fail her duty so with Yuna's healing skills to back her up, she managed her guardian job quite well.

"You have improved since Besaid, haven't you?"

"Maybe… I had a good instructor on the way. I guess it's true you learn more on the field, than in books."

"Of course it's true. Come on, let's go take a look over there."

They headed north and were quite happy to come across Kimahri, standing there. His eyes showed relief the moment they were placed upon Yuna.

"Yuna, sorry we left you alone," he apologized.

"No, it's okay," she assured, shaking her head.

"Hey guys, glad to see you're alright," Irvine cut in from behind Kimahri. "I hope the others are fine too."

"I'm sure they are, let's keep looking."

Now that Kimahri was back, Kerry stood a little behind. After all, he was Yuna's guardian. The tall Ronso walked to the girl and looked at her.

"You helped Yuna, thank you."

Kerry slightly blushed and looked away.

"It was nothing, really."

Irvine patted her on the head and smiled.

"When this is all over, you're not going to be a little girl anymore, you're gonna be a young woman. And I bet you could take the SeeD test right away, considering everything you've done."

Kerry kept her head down, slightly embarrassed.

The room where Kimahri and Irvine were kept going further north, but there was more to explore before that, so they walked back to the entrance, and this time, they took the left path. Then south, was a dead end with a pond of water, but someone was leaning over the water.

"Hey, Squall!" Irvine called.

Squall stretched up and turned around, glad to see familiar faces s well. He walked up to them and scanned the small group.

"Is that all of you?"

"Well, we're still searching," Yuna told.

"Alright, let's keep going then."

The group walked up north then east into a small hall where the came across Lulu and Veronique.

"Hey, everyone!" Veronique exclaimed waving at the group.

Yuna stood in front of Lulu.

"Lulu, I…"

"It's okay. I know," she said shaking her head.

Squall turned to Veronique.

"I didn't expect you would stick around. I thought you would have vanished like before."

"Nah, I couldn't just leave you guys here alone."

"But you could have made us all vanish, couldn't you?" Irvine asked. "We would have avoided this!"

"And then all of Yevon would be searching Spira around for us. I considered it."

"Ah… er right."

They walked up north and east into yet another small hall ending in a dead end. There, they found a relieved Rachel who was getting pretty lonely.

"We're sticking out, let's split up," Squall suggested.

He went back to the entrance with Kerry, Irvine and Rachel and the others kept going forward. They took the way north but came across a gate blocking the way, but a few meters before the gat was a way east into a room where they found Rinoa.

"You okay?" Squall inquired.

"Yeah. What about the others?"

"We were just with Yuna and some of her guardians, they took another road."

The group went back where Kimahri and Irvine were found to take the way north. They eventually caught up with Yuna's group who just came across Auron and Quistis.

"There must be an exit somewhere," Auron said. "We search!"

"There are still some missing, Quistis stated after scanning their group."

"We looked everywhere," Yuna told. "They may be further ahead."

Up north, there was a long hallway with red lights on each side. Sounds of battle could be heard from the room at the end of the hall. The SeeDs took out their weapons and hurried there. In the middle of the room stood Isaaru. On the side, Adam was on his knees, his bow on the ground, Seifer on one knee, barely holding his gunblade and Carole was resting against the wall, her gunblade next to her, her head turned aside with her eyes closed.

"Adam!" Rinoa called hurrying to him.

Squall didn't say a word as he ran to his girlfriend.

"She's just fainted," Seifer assured. "Damn, this guy is tough…"

Isaaru didn't take any interest in the SeeDs, he was too busy staring at Yuna.

"Lady Yuna… So it is you!"

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"We rode the airship to the Calm Lands, then came to Bevelle. Maester Kinoc summoned us then. Ordered us to "deal with the traitors"."

Yuna lowered her head and closed her eyes, sighing, while the SeeDs attended to their friends' wounds. They were not too badly injured.

When Carole opened her eyes, Kerry threw herself in her arms, relieved.

"You okay?" Squall inquired.

Carole reached for her head with a grimace.

"I got a headache, but aside from that, it's perfect."

They went behind the guardians and all stared at Isaaru.

"You will fight us?" Auron asked.

"The temple's orders are law," Isaaru replied putting a hand on his hip. "Even if you are Lord Braska's flesh and blood… You're a traitor!"

"His guardians… I don't seem them," Lulu noticed.

"Maroda and Pacce are not here. I will do this unhappy deed myself. Forgive me, Lady Yuna."

It was a summoner battle, and everyone realized it right away. One on one, summoner versus summoner.

Isaaru summoned Ifrit.

"Your aeons against mine!"

Yuna replied summoning Shiva with her overdrive, allowing Shiva to use Diamond Dust and deal with Ifrit in a single shot.

"Way to go, Yuna!" Rachel exclaimed.

Isaaru summoned Valefor.

"It's not over yet!"

Yuna summoned Bahamut. Valefor was quick, but Bahamut was evading Valefor's attacks almost all the time, dealing much more damage than what it received. It eventually had enough power to release its overdrive, Mega Flare and finished Valefor off.

"He's not even half as good as you are, Yuna!" Irvine cheered from behind.

This time, it was Isaaru's turn to summon Bahamut.

"I cannot let you pass!"

"Damn, he's got Bahamut too?" Squall said.

Yuna decided to rely on her very first aeon, Valefor. Bahamut started a countdown from five leading to the use of its overdrive. Valefor could unleash Energy Ray before the countdown reached zero. Bahamut was weakened up, but not enough. The countdown reached zero and Valefor took a full hit of Mega Flare, weakened by the use of its own overdrive. Valefor was brought down, but Yuna was not about to give up. She summoned Ifrit. It delivered a few good hits and Bahamut was defeated even before it had a chance to use Mega Flare once more.

Isaaru dropped on his back, moaning.

"Good job, Lady Yuna!" Kerry praised.

Yuna walked towards Isaaru.

"Stay away!"

Lulu joined her.

"Yuna, let's go."

"There's a way to the surface up ahead," Isaaru told.

Yuna bowed thankfully and walked away, followed with Lulu and Kimahri, Auron stopping in front of him to face Isaaru.

"Your pilgrimage is over," he simply said.

He walked ahead to join with Yuna while the SeeDs followed right after. Irvine and Seifer kept an eye on Squall to make sure he wouldn't decide to finish the guy off but he didn't even grant him one look. Holding Carole's hand tightly in his, Kerry walking by her side as usual, he lead their group away.

Meanwhile, the others were swimming across water filled rooms. They crossed a hallway and came into a large round room. Pyreflies started gathering together and a replica of Evrae appeared. A vengeful ghost. Behind it was a huge door with two locks. Would they open the door, they could swim away but the monster would eventually catch up to them so they agreed to fight it right away.

Rikku was turned to stone right away and collapsed to the bottom. Wakka and Tidus both had their overdrives ready. A shot of Slice and Dice and Element Reels did some damage. Selphie attacked, thunder spells junctionned in elemental attack. Audrey slashed it with her twin circles, and Zell gave it a good punch. Dave was about to give it a go when he thought of something.

_This thing is undead! Well, it's worth a try._

He took a phoenix down from his things and threw it at the monster, dealing major damage. Tidus turned to him and raised a thumb before doing the same, bringing the monster down right away.

They took their breath a moment over the surface then started swimming again after turning Rikku back to normal. A couple of halls further and two more large round rooms, they finally got out of the water.

"About time," Zell complained. "Hey good thinking back there, Dave."

"Thanks."

"This thing was quite easy after all," Selphie said trying to dry her hair a little.

"Hey, look!" Audrey interrupted.

The rest of the group just appeared ahead. They hurried to them, happy and relieved.

"Yunie!" Rikku exclaimed jumping in her cousin's arms." You're all right? We were so worried! It's good to have you back!"

"Thank you," Yuna answered holding her back.

"Um…I…uh…" Tidus started, standing behind Rikku.

Carole looked at him a sorry way. She knew he had a lot in mind but he couldn't seem to speak it out.

Footsteps behind them interrupted the reunion and made them all spin around, on their guard. Seymour, Kinoc, three soldiers and a Bevelle guard were walking towards them. Kinoc had his head down, but Seymour showed a smiling face at everyone on guard. The Bevelle guard let go of Kinoc who collapsed on the ground where he was standing. He was dead.

"Kinoc!" Auron called.

"Why, you!" Tidus started as he made a step forward, frowning.

"I have saved him," Seymour said before laughing a bit. "He was a man who craved power. And great power he had, but he feared losing it. Trembling at unseen enemies, he spent his days scheming petty schemes. Chased by his fears, never knowing rest. You see… now he has no worries. He has been granted sleep eternal. Death is a sweet slumber. All the pain of life is gently swept away… Ah, yes… So you see, if all life were to end on Spira, all suffering would end. Don't you see? Do you not agree? That, Yuna, is why I need you. Come, Lady Yuna," he said as he reached out to her. "Come with me to Zanarkand, the lost city of the dead. With death on our side, we will save Spira, and for this… I will take from you your strength, Yuna, your life, and become the next Sin. I will destroy Spira! I will save it!"

"You're totally nuts!" Tidus exclaimed.

"Become the next Sin?" Carole said under her breath.

Kimahri rushed from behind the others and stuck his spear right in Seymour's chest.

"Unpleasant… Very well. I will give you your death. You seem to want it so."

He raised his staff and a dark aura appeared around and behind him. A dark ball formed over his head as the soldiers, the Bevelle guard and Kinoc's body turned into pyreflies and gathered around Seymour. His body began to transform until he looked more like a fiend than a human being, floating in mid-air.

His spear still pointed at Seymour, Kimahri turned his head to the others.

"Run! Protect Yuna!"

"Go!" Auron urged.

"No way! I'm fighting!" Tidus objected turning to Auron.

Zell and Seifer were about to agree when Auron took out his sword and pointed it at Tidus, making him grow nervous.

"I said go!" Auron insisted.

Looking at the sword, then at Yuna, Tidus nodded and ran past Kimahri, the others right behind.

As he ran, Tidus screamed with fury. Yuna suddenly stopped, causing everyone to stop as well to know what was wrong.

"I won't leave Kimahri behind!"

"He is a guardian," Auron said. "Protecting you is everything."

"Auron!" Yuna objected clenching her fists and frowning.

"That's right!" Tidus exclaimed pumping his fist. "We're all guardians!"

He walked towards Yuna and put a hand on his hip.

"Yeah, and you know what that means? Yuna… Anywhere you go, I'll follow!"

Carole had a smile, understanding where this was going. From the smiles on her friends' faces, she was not the only one.

"Anywhere I go?"

"Yeah, anywhere!"

"Well, then!"

"Let's go!" they exclaimed at the same time and started running back the way they came from.

"Hey, Kimahri!" Tidus called. "Leave some for us!"

"Ah! That's more like it!" Zell exclaimed running after them.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Wakka exclaimed following.

"Not without me," Veronique threw in.

"Me too!" Rikku added moving her arm.

The SeeDs all ran ahead with wide smiles on their faces, even Kerry.

Lulu walked up to Auron and smiled at him.

"I'll go too!"

And she ran after the others.

"Hmph!"

Auron followed as well.

As the group ran all the way up the Highbridge, they were intercepted by machinas once more. Before Tidus and Yuna could even start attacking it, Zell came jumping down on it and pummeled it to the ground.

"Just like when we crashed the wedding!" he exclaimed with a wide smile. "You go on ahead!"

Tidus nodded and turned to Yuna before running ahead, making sure she was following him.

"Hold on Kimahri!" she called.

There were also guards with flamethrowers, but the SeeDs junctionned with fire on elemental defense had a blast with them. Kerry felt more confident with Carole and Squall next to her so she let it all out on them and even finished some herself.

Once Yuna, Tidus and the other guardians arrived each side of Kimahri, weapons in hands, he was quite surprised and shook his head in discouragement.

"It's good to see you again, Lady Yuna," Seymour said. "But you don't seem pleased…"

"I'll only be pleased when you're gone to the farplane!"

Seymour looked at Tidus.

"So you, too, seek freedom from this painful life?"

"You talk too much, Seymour!"

"Although he was not the man he used to be, Kinoc was still my friend, Seymour! You will pay for his death!"

The SeeDs arrived in the meantime, ready as well. This time, they would not just stand back. Seymour caused too much trouble already to be left alone, they had to participate.

Seymour was not alone, there was a strange monster floating around him. It was called a Mortibody. It used a special spell on Seymour, allowing him to cast multiple spells one after another. Highly trained, the SeeDs could tell which spell was being cast and they would jump ahead if they had the proper spell junctionned in their defense to protect the guardians. The long range fighters all targeted the Mortibody, which was pretty easy to beat, but every time it was defeated, it sucked up energy from Seymour to regenerate itself.

Seymour cast Break which could turn to stone and the Mortibody had the habit to target the stoned character. Luckily, Squall was junctionned with Borthers, so he could cover the stoned character, allowing someone else to use a soft, preventing the statue from being shattered.

The slashes and hits came from all around. Despite his multi-casting ability, Seymour couldn't quite follow.

"So many people seeking death… I will grant it all."

"Keep dreaming, freak!" Seifer exclaimed slashing hard at Seymour and pulling the trigger at the right time.

Some were still targeting the Mortibody since it kept draining energy from Seymour every time it was defeated, while others focused on Seymour himself. Yuna stood back to heal whoever would get hurt, Selphie backing her up.

Yuna tried to summon at first, but Seymour had the detestable ability to kill it in one shot with a Banish skill.

It took a lot of work, but Seymour was brought down, once more

With Seymour defeated, the group did not wish to stick around for more, they ran away out of Bevelle and into Macalania Woods.

Tidus could tell Yuna had lost something, her faith was shaken. Yevon betrayed her. He wanted to do or say something, anything. But nothing came to him, he felt just as lost as she was. And he was not the only one…

**A/N: Hehe, the Spring event coming up yay! I know it took me awful long for that chapter, and I felt quite lazy about this one too… More interesting stuff is coming later and I can't wait to be there! Thanks to those who stick with me, and don't give up, because I am not… Even though I've been on this fic for nearly three years. Damn, that long? See ya.**


	23. Chapter 22: Déjàvu

**Chapter 22 : Déjà-vu...**

Everyone settled camp in Macalania Woods and took a well earned rest. Rikku, Tidus and Wakka were sat on the ground. Kerry was resting against Rikku, fast asleep. Most were catching their breath, sat on the ground or climbed up on tree branches. Others were cleaning their weapons to be ready quickly in case of emergency. Lulu was standing aside and Auron came walking in on the group.

"Well?" Wakka asked him, causing everyone to look at Auron.

Tidus got up.

"We're all clear," Auron answered, his words followed with a few relieved sighs. "We will have to avoid Bevelle in the future."

"Well, it can't be that bad since Yuna got the Aeon available there," Veronique said. "It's not like we have anymore business there. For now at least."

Some SeeDs nodded.

Auron looked around, noticing there were missing people.

"Yuna?"

"Said she wanted to be alone," Rikku told.

"Of course," Auron said walking to the end of the place.

"Some of us went looking around too, just in case," Squall told.

Looking around, he noticed his girlfriend was missing as well. He found it strange because she didn't say anything about going around to check the place. And he was positive she was with him not so long ago. He frowned, thinking she must have snuck away.

"I'm gonna look for Carole," he told Quistis. "Take care of things here."

She nodded and sat down, willing to take some rest as well.

As Squall started walking away, Rinoa interrupted him.

"I think she wants to be alone too, Squall."

"Why?" he asked her, turning around.

Rinoa kept quiet, not knowing what to answer.

"And I think she should not be alone. Those who went to take a look around all went in groups. We're probably all branded criminals, now, no one should stay alone."

And he walked out, not waiting for a reply.

Tidus was wondering what to do. He knew he wouldn't be able to rest even if he tried; he was too concerned about Yuna.

"Yuna's off in the woods," Lulu told him. "Kimahri's with her but maybe you should go too?"

"Wonder what Yunie'll do, huh?" Rikku wondered. "Think she'll quit her pilgrimage?"

"That's what you want, right?" Tidus asked her.

"Well… If Yunie really wants to keep going, then, I guess I shouldn't stop her, you know? That's what I think anyway."

Wakka looked around at the people sleeping or dozing off around the place.

"Must be tough for Yuna. We leave at daybreak. If Yuna figures out where we're going, that is."

"Maybe you should talk to her," Auron suggested.

Thinking maybe it was the best course of action to take, Tidus went out as well to look for Yuna, already trying to figure out what he was going to say to her.

Opposing the camp, on the other side of the road, Tidus found Kimahri, arms crossed. When he caught sight of Tidus, he simply pointed forward without saying a single word.

The place was glowing. Lights were hanging in the trees and some tiny things were glittering, floating in the air.

Tidus saw Yuna standing in the middle of a spring, in the water up to her waist, facing him her back. There was a large tree further in the water.

"I always thought that this would be easier, somehow," she started, aware of Tidus' presence behind her. "I thought that everyone would help me with all my friends together beside me. I've been trying so hard."

Tidus stepped in the water and walked towards Yuna, stopping behind her.

"Maybe you're trying too hard. They told me… everything."

She turned to him.

"Everything?"

Tidus nodded and Yuna turned back, lowering her head.

"Well, so then… you know," she understood, looking up.

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

She looked at him.

"It's just, you know… all those things I said. Like "Let's go get Sin!" Or about Zanarkand. I didn't know what would happen to you, Yuna. I guess… I hope it didn't make you sad. Forgive me."

"I wasn't sad. I was happy," she said with a smile.

Tidus dived and swam past Yuna, traced by her.

On the other side of the spring, Squall walked through a couple of bushes and found the one he was looking for, eavesdropping on the other two.

"There you are," he said in a low tone.

She turned around calmly.

"Hey," she said.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's calm and peaceful here. I was already here when Tidus arrived."

He stood behind her as they watched Tidus float on his back. He kept silent because he felt that Carole was uneasy and didn't feel like talking at the moment. Her heart was beating faster for some reason and she was growing nervous.

"Yuna," Tidus called. "Just don't do it."

"The pilgrimage?"

He got back on his feet.

"Yeah. That's right. Forget all about Sin, about being a Summoner. Forget all that. You know, live a normal life. Come on now, Yuna, what do you say?"

She had a clear laugh.

"Maybe I will," she said with a smile.

Tidus turned to her, dived again and came out right in front of Yuna, trying to catch his balance a moment.

"Wouldn't everyone be surprised?" she asked looking up.

"Yeah," Tidus answered. "Except Rikku. She'd be with you. Lulu and Wakka wouldn't hold out long."

"Kimahri would say yes, too, I know. But Sir Auron…" she started lowering her head.

"I'll make him understand, Yuna. It's the least I can do for you."

"No, I should tell him. He deserves it."

She walked pass him and started floating on her back, gazing at the sky.

"What will I do if I give up my pilgrimage?"

Tidus thought a moment.

"Hey! Zanarkand! Let's go to Zanarkand!"

"Uh?" Yuna did, not understanding.

"Not the one is Spira," Tidus corrected. "The one I'm from."

"Uh huh…"

"Yeah, we can all fly there. Everyone can go! Then we'll have a big party at my place!"

"And then we could see blitzball!" she said with a smile, back on her feet.

"That's right!" Tidus nodded.

"Your Zanarkand Abes would play!"

"Yeah!" he nodded again, getting enthusiastic, walking towards her.

"We could all watch you play, in the stadium all lit up at night. I'd cheer and cheer 'till I couldn't cheer anymore!" Yuna exclaimed, moving her arms like she was actually cheering.

"Right on!"

"Well, what about after the game?" she asked looking at him.

"We'd go out and have fun!"

"In the middle of the night?"

"Ha, ha! No problem! Zanarkand never sleeps!"

He paused a moment, thinking.

"Let's go to the sea, before the sunrise. The city lights go out one by one, the stars fade…" he told as he spread his arms looking up.

Next to him, Yuna was looking at the sky as well, trying to imagine it.

"Then the horizon glows, almost like it's on fire. It's kinda rose-colored, right? First in the sea, then it spreads to the sky, then to the whole city. It gets brighter and brighter, till everything glows. It's really… pretty. I know you'd like it."

A tear drop broke the calm surface of the water. Tidus looked at Yuna, concerned, seeing tears rolling down her cheeks as she kept her eyes closed.

"Yu…?" he started, worried.

"I can't. I just can't!"

She started sobbing gently.

"I can't go!"

She reached a hand to her face as Tidus moved closer in front of her. She kept crying. He stared at her, wondering how he could help her. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Yuna," he called gently.

She slowly brought her head up, still crying, her breath cut by sobs now and then. Their eyes locked and Tidus got closer before he lowered his head over hers. Yuna blinked several times from surprise as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She widened her eyes when he kissed her. The surprise quickly faded as she closed her eyes as well and kissed him back. Holding her close to him, he dragged her under the surface. It was glowing underwater just like at the surface as they got deeper, still kissing. Their fingers crossed together and they looked at each other. Holding hands, they ended up opposing each other, upside down. The crystal clear water washed away all traces of tears from Yuna's face. The only thing left was a smile. They pulled on each other's hands to be face to face, holding each other. Tidus pushed away a few strands of Yuna's hair and she placed her palm on Tidus' cheek. He half-closed his eyes in delight. Their eyes locked once more and they got closer to kiss once again, holding onto each other.

The moment she saw Tidus and Yuna kiss, Carole's heart missed a beat and she staggered like she was just slapped. Then her heart started pounding, she started breathing faster and her mind got blurry. She made a few uneasy steps forward and stepped in the water.

"What's wrong?" Squall asked.

She didn't even seem to hear what he said. Her eyes were wide opened and her head was buzzing.

"No… this… can't be…"

Her legs gave way and she collapsed on her knees and palms, in the water.

"Carole!" Squall called as he ran to her.

He dropped on his knees by her side and looked at her. She was not only breathing faster now, she was gasping like she was out of air and her eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head any minute. She was trembling as if she was freezing cold, but cold sweat was rolling down her face.

"For Hyne's sake, speak to me!" he pleaded, helpless.

"I've… I've seen this before…" she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"A… vision… I had a vision about this… Yuna and Tidus together in the water… I knew this was going to happen…"

"What? You mean like in a dream?"

"No…" she said, shaking her head slowly. "In the ship from Kilika to Luca, I felt weird and... had this vision…"

She turned her head to Squall and for a second, he got scared. She looked mad with her wide opened eyes.

"I saw… the future…" she trailed off.

She threw herself against Squall, causing him to lose his balance and end up sitting in the water. She shut her eyes and held on tight.

"Why? Why did I know this? Why did I see this? What does it mean?"

She started crying from fear and confusion. Squall felt his heart squeeze in his chest. He had no answer to give her. He hugged her back tightly, shutting his own eyes, hoping to ease her fear even just a little. He felt so powerless he got angry. He had enough strength to save the world, but not enough to reassure the girl he loved. All his strength was useless in this case.

She suddenly brought her head up and looked at him in distress, desperate.

"Don't say anything to the others, Squall! Please!"

"But don't you think…?" he started thinking maybe together, they could figure something out.

"I beg you! I'm already scared to death of what it could mean, I don't want anyone else to know! Please!"

The tears rolling down her eyes broke his heart, but he still nodded.

"If it is what you want…"

She pressed herself against him and held on tight.

"Thank you…"

He rubbed her hair with one hand, holding her tightly with the other. She was in a complete panic, and the others would figure it out right away the moment she would show up, so he decided they could stay there for a while.

When Tidus and Yuna came out of the water, they sat on the ground, in front of the spring, side by side, unaware of what just happened on the other side of it. Tidus was keeping his balance with his hands on the ground, looking ahead of him. Yuna raised her head a little.

"I'll continue," she decided. "I must."

Tidus turned his head to her a second and slightly nodded.

"Hmm."

Both looked ahead again.

"If I give up now, I could do anything I wanted to, and yet…"

Tidus looked at her.

"Even if I was with you, I could never forget."

Seeing he kept silent, Yuna looked at him, thinking he must have been disappointed.

"I'll go with you," he said.

She widened her eyes, looking at him with surprise.

"Wha…?"

"I'm your guardian," he explained with a smile. "Unless I'm… fired?" he asked moving his hand in front of his throat.

Yuna lowered her head and closed her eyes, smiling, as she shook her head.

"Stay with me until the end. Please," she asked as she bowed her head.

"Not until the end…" Tidus started, looking up, putting his arms on his knees. "Always."

He slowly turned his head to Yuna who nodded at him.

"Always, then."

Still standing near the entrance, Kimahri was watching and decided to walk away as Tidus got up.

"Maybe you should head back to camp first," Yuna said.

"Roger!"

They gazed into each other's eyes a moment, then Tidus turned around and started walking away while Yuna got up.

As he walked, he stared at the clear sky and spotted some shooting stars when he heard a short whistling behind him. He hurried back and Yuna came walking to him with a giggle.

"Wait, I'll go with you."

He nodded approvingly and started walking again. Yuna hesitated a moment, then caught up to him and grabbed his hand. He looked at her in surprise then they walked back together.

Back to camp, they were not holding hands anymore, and Tidus even arrived first. Rikku looked up to him. She would have gotten up, but she couldn't move with Kerry resting against her. Tidus shook his head at her silent question: she was not going to quit. He patted her shoulder and sat down. Yuna followed in and Wakka got up. Those not asleep looked up at her, knowing her decision would decide where they would go. Those who left to take a look around earlier were all back, except for Squall and Carole.

"Hum…" Yuna started turning to Auron. "Sir Auron? Wakka? Lulu? Kimahri? Rikku? Everyone, we leave at dawn. And... I'm sorry for putting you through all this," she said bowing. "And… um…"

"Enough," Auron cut her. "You need your rest."

"Yes. Good night."

Since there was not enough room for everyone to lie down, some slept sitting, and some of the SeeDs decided to take turns and stand guard at the camp's entrance, just to be safe.

Squall came around a little past midnight, carrying Carole in his arms. She fell asleep quite quickly from too much worrying. He couldn't bring himself to wake her up to walk back to camp. Seifer was standing guard when he showed up.

"There you are," he said in a whisper to avoid waking everyone up. "I was wondering where you wandered off to."

When he noticed the sleeping girl he was carrying, he got worried.

"What happened to her?"

"She's exhausted."

He tried to hold her closer to him to hide the traces of tears still showing on her face. The lack of light could at least hide her puffy eyes. But unfortunately, he forgot to try and hide his own face also showing signs of tears. Seifer was not fooled that easily.

"And what happened to you?"

Squall quickly turned away.

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

Seifer grabbed his arm before he would walk in camp. He could have shaken him off, but not with the girl in his arms.

"Why is it that you seem to have changed so much only when it suits you? Or don't you think I really care? I wouldn't have asked if I didn't, you know!"

Squall lowered his head and sighed, feeling his throat squeeze. He was already feeling lost towards what was happening with Carole, he didn't know what to do anymore. To see Seifer worried about him only made it worst. It was not that he didn't want to talk to him, more like he didn't know what to tell him. He was exhausted as well and was not sure what to do anymore.

"I'm sorry, I know you mean well…"

"Cut the crap, Squall, and just tell me, what in the world is wrong? We may not have been friends for a long time, but we always hanged out. You used to argue with her all the time, and now you go out; we used to fight all the time and now we are friends, doesn't that count for nothing?"

Squall looked up at Seifer and couldn't help but smile.

"You said we are "friends"."

Seifer looked away.

"Well… am I wrong?"

"No…"

Seifer looked back at him, very seriously.

"Alright, now speak up, what's going on."

Squall took a deep breath.

"The truth… I wish I knew."

"Don't you start…"

"I'm not lying. But I can't tell you everything because… she doesn't want me to."

"So it's about her…"

Squall nodded.

"She's not just exhausted, she's worn out, Seifer. I don't know if it's this place or something else, but she isn't quite herself these days."

"Have Veronique send you two back."

Squall had a smile.

"Carole would kill me. She wants to stay. Plus, nothing proves if it's because of this place or something else she is like this. If it does not get better once we get back home, we'd have gone back for nothing. And since Yuna is not willing to quit the pilgrimage, I also want to stay. I'll just have to watch her more closely."

"Listen, Squall. If for any reason we should get separated again, but I end up with her, I will put my life in line to protect her, how does that sound to you?"

"I'm not asking you to do that much."

"Who said you asked me anything? You deaf? I said I WILL do it. Because I feel like it."

The bronze haired guy couldn't help but sigh with a certain kind of relief.

"As a matter of fact, I would feel better knowing someone would keep an eye on her if I'm not around to do it myself."

"Then it's settled. Although there is no guarantee that if we ever get separated, that I end up with her."

"Have to make sure it doesn't happen, then."

Seifer nodded.

"Go get some sleep, now. You really look like you need it."

"Yeah, I'll just do that."

Squall started walking back in camp.

"Hey, Squall!" Seifer called him back. "When you figure out what's wrong, be sure to tell me, okay?"

Squall nodded slightly, although he was not sure if he really would do it.

He managed to find a spot where he sat down and rested Carole against him, between his legs to keep her warm. He wrapped his arms around her protectively.

_For tonight, just sleep and forget everything. Let me be your shield… And if you need to cry again, I'm here…_

He buried his face in her hair, wondering if he would even be able to sleep.

In another corner of the camp, Veronique was discreetly looking at the two. She felt sorry, but knew she couldn't do anything yet.

_She's getting aware, but it's still too soon… Even when it's the right time, there will be nothing I can do to change that… I hope she will understand that…_

The night was silent, except from some snoring here and there. Eventually, Squall could fall asleep, but an uneasy sleep with uneasy dreams about his girlfriend getting further and further away from him until she would eventually disappear completely…

**A/N: Wow, a short one, hehe. I was almost disappointed at how short it turned out to be, but I really didn't want to add more just yet. Next chapter might take longer before coming out, I apologize in advance. See ya ;)**


	24. Chapter 23: Little Relief

**Chapter 23: Little relief**

When morning broke out and the group started waking up one after the other, they started getting ready to leave. Yuna and her guardians gathered at the camp's exit while the SeeDs and their friends were slowly coming around at the end of the site. Seifer took a quick look at Squall and noticed he had a bad night. Squall tried to hide it the best he could, so the others did not pay attention. His main concern was his girlfriend once again, but curiously enough, she seemed really lively. She was chatting with Kerry and laughing with a wide true smile.

"I don't get it…" he said under his breath.

She came to him.

"You ready to go?" she asked.

The others started heading out after the guardians but he stayed behind with her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her face, rubbing her cheek with one hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"I feel great actually. Slept like a log," she answered with a large smile. "Come on, they're not gonna wait for us you know."

She held his hands.

"Yeah, go ahead, I'll be right behind you."

She nodded and went ahead. Squall was completely lost. It was as if she did not remember anything about the past night.

"What does that mean? What happened?"

He figured that if she forgot about the past night, maybe it was a case of selective amnesia. It happened sometimes when someone went through something too hard to bear and simply locked it out, forgetting it ever happened. Unlike her, he did not forget though. He was still wondering what it all meant and what was happening. He shook his head and shut his eyes, trying to empty his mind. He had to stop thinking about it for now so he followed the others out of the camp.

Veronique was still behind and no one seemed to have noticed she did. She breathed out like she was giving an effort.

"That one really asked a lot out of me. I can't do that for much longer. The time is near at least, I won't have to do it for much longer."

She hurried after the group.

The group headed east and out of the woods to a large plain called the Calm Lands. There was a gentle breeze blowing. The sound of it was intensified from the echo bouncing off the rock walls each side of the road they climbed. The ground was covered with green grass, something they have not seen anywhere else so far. They walked up a small hill and everyone gazed at the scenery. The plain was spreading out as far as the eye could see.

"The Calm Lands," Lulu told. "Long ago, high summoners fought Sin here. The road ends here. Beyond, there're no towns, no villages. Only endless plains."

"Many summoners stray from their path and lose their way here," Auron added.

Yuna looked up at the sky a moment, then let herself fall on her back. She took a long, deep breath.

"I've always known where to go," she said.

Tidus looked at her and stood next to her, holding his hand out to her.

"I… I won't let you die," he said. "I'll find a way, somehow."

Yuna sat up and looked up to him. She took his hand and he helped her up with a swift pull. Everyone looked at them and Rikku scratched her cheek with the tip of her finger with a smile. Yuna turned around to face everyone. Squall caught up to the others and stood next to Carole, followed shortly with Veronique.

"Let's go," Yuna said.

She started walking down a hill on the side while Tidus stood there, staring at the horizon, lost in thoughts.

By telling her he would find a way, he wanted to believe words could make it come true.

Yuna and her guardians preceded the others once again. Rachel arched an eyebrow.

"Why do I get the feeling something changed between those two?"

"Who?" Zell asked.

"Tidus and Yuna."

"Because something did change," Squall answered.

Everyone turned to him.

"Really?" Audrey asked. "How?"

Squall eyed Carole and she was looking at him the same way the others did.

_So it's true, she really forgot about it._

He was worried that by talking about it, it might jolt her memory into remembering the rest as well. If she would remember, she would torture herself again.

"I guess it simply did," Seifer answered in his stead.

Squall thanked him silently. Seifer nodded discreetly.

The SeeD leader could manage not to think about it, but he could not ease his heart over Carole. He couldn't help but worry about her. He suddenly felt an urge to grab her hand and he did. She looked at him, but he did not look back at her. He looked ahead of him. Carole felt something warm come over her.

"This reminds me of my SeeD exam," she told him with a smile.

"Oh," Squall replied. "Will you slap me this time too?" he asked remembering how mad she was afterwards because she knew he did it on an impulse to try and make Rinoa jealous.

"No," she giggled. "Unless you are doing it for an unclean reason?"

He turned his head to her and smiled.

"No, of course not. I guess it's this place. I feel like we're simply taking a walk."

She clenched his hand in hers and breathed out with joy.

Kerry was walking next to her as always, smiling. How long has it been since they got to Spira? She was not sure. But she remembered how sad and worried Carole was before Squall turned up. She was happy to see her with a smile on her face all the time. And a real smile too, not just one she was putting on as a figure because she wanted to be a responsible leader. She looked ahead and pointed at something.

"Look, there's somebody there!"

Carole and Squall looked the way Kerry was pointing and they saw an old man, standing on top of the ramp the others were walking down on. He was simply standing there, enjoying the view, the weather, or maybe just life. He turned his head to them and smiled warmly before turning back towards the horizon.

Carole smiled back and looked at Squall who nodded at the old man as well before they also headed down the hill, Kerry close behind.

"I wonder why they call it the Calm Lands," Carole thought out loud.

"Let's ask Lulu or Wakka when we stop later. Maybe Auron if he feels talkative tonight."

"Not a chance," Carole said, giggling.

The trio walked down the hill along the mountain side. As the group started walking on the large plains, they could see wild chocobos strolling around. They ran away in fear when a hover arrived and stopped not far from the group, offering them supplies and suggesting they would stop at Rin's Travel Agency in the center of the plains.

"We should get there at night fall if we keep a good pace," Lulu told. "Let's go."

"There are monsters here too, be careful," Auron added without looking at anyone.

Everyone took a look around and made sure their weapons were in order before they started moving again.

Some monsters felt lucky and attacked the group walking in smaller groups once again to avoid sticking out, and be in each other's way should they have to fight. Of course, none were a match for any of the groups. The monsters were mostly flies, dog types, round armored monsters, large two legged monsters, machinas and flame flans. Those were really troublesome to kill since they were nearly invulnerable to physical attacks so Lulu and Rinoa mostly took care of them.

The weather was very nice, not as hot as the desert, and far from as cold as Lake Macalania. It was like a nice mid-spring day. The sun was going down at the horizon though. The ground was easy to walk on since it was nearly all even. There were holes here and there but there was plenty of room to walk around them. They were not too big either to cause any big detours. Since the ground was pretty much even, it allowed the group to walk without tiring themselves too much.

They walked all day, barely stopping to take a bite. When the sun started going down, the Travel Agency finally came in sight.

"We'll stop here for the night," Auron told the others behind him.

"Ah, finally!" Zell said folding himself in two like he was trying to touch his feet.

Carole noticed Kerry sigh with relief as well. She was proud of the younger girl, though. But she did realize she was asking a lot out of her. She could have a well deserved rest at last.

The group spread around the travel agency's boundaries to relax, some looked at what they had in store, when a man dressed in the robes of Bevelle approached. Everyone stared at him, growing worried until Lulu's face lightened up, recognizing the man.

"Father Zuke!" she called.

"Long time no see," he greeted when he stopped close to them.

He turned to the summoner while everyone else had their eyes on him.

"You are Yuna?"

She nodded.

"Hmm… You certainly don't look like Maester Kinoc's murderer."

Mostly everyone objected with force.

"Huh?"

"What!?"

"What'd you say?" Wakka asked behind Yuna, shaking his fist.

Yuna moved forward.

"Please, tell us what happened!" she demanded.

"Maester Mika just issued a personal order, you know. It said that you and your guardians murdered Maester Kinoc and fled. We are to kill you on sight, or so it says."

Yuna lowered her head while some started complaining out loud that they did nothing of the sort, that it was a mistake, a misunderstanding.

"What of Bevelle?" Auron asked, interrupting the ruckus.

"Things are calm on the surface, but the depths are turbulent," Zuke answered, troubled. "After the death of Maester Kinoc, Kelk Ronso left Yevon."  
"Convenient," Auron said. "Getting around will be easier with Yevon in disarray."

"But be careful, my friends. You have been branded enemies of Yevon. You should avoid temples for the time being."

"Thank you, Father Zuke, for your warning," Yuna said bowing to the man.

"Father, you came all the way here just to tell us this?" Lulu asked him.

"To tell the truth, I was a little curious to see the summoner you are guarding. I hope her pilgrimage goes well. For your sake, too."

"Thank you, Father."

"I must be off," he said, praying, followed immediately by Lulu. "I shall pray for all of you."

The Father of Yevon walked away, leaving the group to rest in peace at last.

Rikku took Tidus aside while Squall turned to his group.

"Let's prepare a camp site. Let's put up some tents and make the arrangements for the night."

They had large enough tents to put at least four people in them so couples got together quickly. Kerry was a little torn between staying with Carole, and leaving her alone with Squall for one night. She looked at her and received a warm smile from the elder girl. She smiled back and figured she was staying with them.

Squall turned to the darkening horizon and placed his hand over his eyes, as the sun slowly went down, burning the landscape in a wave of heat. Then he turned back to his friends putting the tents up.

"Someone light a bonfire up and have some food ready. We'll take turns with guard duty."

Everyone looked up at Squall, then, like they were all one mind, they got up and did the SeeD salute.

"Yes, Sir!"

A strange silence followed. Squall stood there, with a hand on his hip, his head bent on the side, an eyebrow arched like he was trying to figure out what just happened. He looked so dumb everyone collapsed to the ground, bursting in laughter. Even Carole next to him had to sit down, quickly followed by Kerry who had to lean against her. Squall's lips were trembling as he made an effort not to laugh as well, then it crossed his lips and he folded himself in two, paralyzed with laughter. Zell was the first one to recover long enough to get up and go to him, wrapping an arm around his neck.

"Come on, loosen up, Squall. Let's take it easy for once, ok?"

"Ha, ha… I guess I could try that."

He rose up and wiped his eyes from the tears of laughter before turning to Carole, still laughing on the ground. He was happy to see her like that, but he couldn't help and recall the image of her panicked face from the past night. Her eyes so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of her head, the river of tears rolling down her face. He lost his smile completely and started being scared once again, remembering how he felt when it happened. He got down, grabbed her hand and pulled her up, catching her by surprise and silencing her laughter. He firmly pressed his lips against hers, causing her to freeze and widen her eyes in surprise. When he released her, it had turned silent again. Everyone was looking at them.

"What was that all about?" Zell asked.

Squall played deaf, staring at Carole who was staring right back at him, looking in his half-closed eyes.

"Squall, what's…?" she started.

He smiled and placed a finger on her lips.

"I'm loosening up!" he said playfully.

Some accepted that answer but others weren't easily fooled. Namely Veronique of course, and also Seifer. Carole had a feeling something was wrong but Squall quickly started acting otherwise.

"Zell, if you light up the fire, I'll make hot dogs," Rachel said.

Zell sprung up at the word.

"Yes m'am!"

It was not an easy task finding wood in the middle of the Calm Lands, but luckily enough, the Travel Agency was selling some firewood. They had enough stock to last them all night. Their camp was set a little aside from the agency not to be in the way should other travelers come by. Yuna and her guardians moved closer and were offered some seats around the future bonfire. Yuna and Lulu sat on blankets the others had while Tidus and Wakka sat on the ground. Kimahri and Auron remained standing at the outskirts of the camp.

Dave got up and stretched out, making many cracking noises in the process which brought grimaces of pain to the girls.

"I'm gonna look for stuff to kill, I'm bored. Call me when it's ready."

Auron made a step forward, telling him he was coming along and not asking for permission. Quistis followed as well.

"Don't go too far, now," Rachel advised.

"It's not like it's gonna be ready soon," Seifer objected. "Fire's not even lit yet."

"Yeah, yeah, gimme a sec," Zell told taking out a box of matches.

Carole turned to Kerry, then looked at Tidus, sitting next to Yuna. The SeeD got up.

"Mind if I spar with someone else tonight, K-chan?"

The girl shook her head strongly. Carole walked towards Tidus, her gunblade tapping her thigh. Yuna had a hand over her mouth like she was hiding her laughter and Tidus was resting back on his palms. He sat up straight when he saw Carole coming his way.

"Want to spar with me?"

"Wow, do I!" Tidus exclaimed jumping on his feet. "I was starting to wonder if we'd ever get the chance."

"Yeah, me too," she said before turning her head to Yuna. "Mind if I borrow him a little?"

"Can I watch?"

"Sure!"

Yuna got up as well and the three walked behind the travel agency to avoid any risk of hurting anyone else.

As Kerry traced them leaving, she brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on them. Squall moved next to her and lowered his head to look at her from the front.

"Are you tired?"

"I was, but I'm feeling better now."

"I was wondering if you would like to have a new training partner for one night."

Kerry looked up at him.

"I know it's not the same than with Carole, but if you don't mind, I can train with you a little."

"Really?"

Squall smiled at her face. He knew only too well the younger one took a liking in Carole, so he was not sure if he would do for training her. But he also figured she has gotten used to training almost daily and this day was about to end without any. He got up, putting his gunblade over his shoulder.

"Alright then."

She got up quickly and followed him outside the campsite. Lulu traced them leaving.

"Do you people ever take a break from fighting?" she asked.

"I do!" Selphie said raising her arm over her head and waving it around.

Next to her, Irvine pushed her playfully and sent her to the ground. She got up, pouting.

"Irvy!"

She jumped on him and took his hat from him, putting it on her own head. Rinoa put a hand over her mouth to hide her giggling seeing the line the hat left on Irvine's hair. He was always wearing it, so it was no wonder, but he looked pretty ridiculous. He noticed quite soon that he was looked at, and also mocked.

"Ah, come on, Sefie! Gimme back my hat!"

He ran after her and she started running around the camp, keeping safe distance between them.

"You'll have to catch me first!"

She was running and giggling, Irvine calling her to stop, Rinoa laughing at them, Adam smiling at the scene, Audrey laughing as well, but Seifer shut his eyes and frowned. He hardened his frown slowly. When she past behind him, Selphie hit his head as she waved her arms out, but she did not seem to notice. Seifer's frown deepened again. Irvine hit him as he past him as well without noticing. Seifer started baring his teeth. The playing couple completed another cycle around the camp and both hit Seifer again when they past him. He exploded.

"Will you two quit it already!?" he screamed.

Selphie and Irvine froze, like Zell and Rachel, and everyone stared at Seifer.

"We stopped for the night to rest and relax, can't you relax in silence?"

Selphie took off Irvine's hat and threw it to him in a flash before jumping back to her seat, kneeling down and putting her fists on her thighs like a little girl who has just been grounded. Irvine put his hat back where it belonged and followed her. No more sound.

"Good!" Seifer said folding his arms.

Audrey got up and smacked him behind the head. He reached for it, turning to her, clueless.

"Ow! Hey, what gives?"

"You know, Seifer, sometimes, 'relaxing' also involves having fun! We told Squall to loosen up, why don't you do the same thing for once?"

Seifer looked at the others and realized he made the mood a little gloomy, so he lowered his head.

"Sorry…" he whispered.

"Good," Audrey said approvingly before she sat down next to him.

Meanwhile, behind the Travel Agency, Yuna found a nice place to sit down and watch the match. She knew Tidus was looking forward to it. He had a chance to fight Squall in the Thunder Plains, but he was eager to fight Carole. He met her first and her gunblade was the first one he ever saw. He wanted this match since they met on Besaid Island. He swung Brotherhood out, moved his foot back, slightly folding his knees, his other foot forward, as his fighting stance. Carole stood straight, slightly turned to the side, holding her gunblade up with both hands, just like Squall. They remained motionless a moment, itching to start, but not daring to make the first move. Tidus' foot was twitching, eager to move, and Carole tightened her grip on her gunblade. Staring at each other, the tension could almost be touched, even Yuna could feel it. It sent shivers down her spine.

Tidus was the first one to move. He ran towards Carole, his sword in hand, watching for an opening. She kept her guard up, waiting for him. She expected him to try and attack, but at the last second, he jumped aside then swung his sword at her. She barely had the time to jump away, placing her gunblade down in front of her legs to protect them. She smiled with contempt. Judging from what she saw during battles, he improved and it would make things more interesting. She swung her gunblade out, causing it to whistle in the air and hurried towards Tidus before he would move again. She brought her gunblade up from the bottom and he blocked it with Brotherhood. She did not wait to see if he would do something else, she slid her blade alongside his to free it and tried an opening on his side. He did an arc with his blade to block hers once again. She let go of one hand to punch him in the stomach. He moved backward, his breath short.

"That was a cheap shot!" he complained.

"Sue me!" she exclaimed sticking her tongue out before attacking again.

"I'll show you!"

The blades clashed again and again, none ever giving any room to their opponent. Sometimes one put more strength in a blow, forcing the other to take a step back before pushing back and get back to where one was first standing and vice versa.

Carole was happy. Tidus was more a match for her than Squall. Squall was too strong, she had to accept it, but Tidus was closer to her level. She still was not sure how close. Stronger than her, close, or weaker than her, close. She wanted to find that out. She jumped a few steps backwards and swung her gunblade in circles in the air a few times. She stopped, grabbing it with both hands again.

"Come on, Tidus! Show me how you protect the summoner!" she called.

Tidus eyed Yuna for a second. She was smiling. He was not going to miss this chance to show her what he was capable of.

He dashed her and she waited. At the last second as he was about to strike, she ducked and pushed back up, sending Tidus right over her head. He landed on the ground, but he was expecting her to do something like that so he was ready. He rolled up, pushing himself back on his feet with his free hand. The moment he was up, he dashed her again, and tackled her hard. She managed to stay on her feet as they were dragged while she got pushed. The sun nearly completely down was making it hard to see, but she seemed to manage. They had to finish this fight or pushing it further could have disastrous results. Someone could get hurt due to the lack of light.

"Let's finish this!" she stated.

"I agree!"

They both ran towards each other, but as they got closer, the lack of light caused an image to place itself over Tidus' face in Carole's mind. The face he had before he kissed Yuna. It only flashed for a second, but it disturbed Carole enough to bring her guard down. Tidus was running at her too fast he didn't have the time to stop. Yuna noticed the sudden change and quickly got up, bringing a hand to her chest. The blitzer tried to stop, but only managed to slow down and rammed the girl. They both collapsed over each other, the blades making a big 'clang!' when they hit one another. Yuna ran to the two of them.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" she inquired kneeling next to the both of them.

Tidus sat up quickly and promptly checked the other girl out.

"I'm okay, but I think I hit her hard."

They both helped Carole sit up and noticed blood on the ground. Yuna quickly checked where it was coming from.

"You're hurt," she said. "Stand still."

Carole sat up and looked at Tidus who was white as a sheet. His hand was trembling when he reached out to her.

"I… I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be, I cut myself on my own gunblade, look."

She showed him her hand and it was her palm that was cut. When she lost focus, one of her hands slipped from the handle and slid on the blade, cutting clean through her leather glove and leaving a pretty deep cut in her palm. It was bleeding quite a lot due to how deep it was, but it was a clean cut. Tidus checked the weapons on the ground and noticed only the gunblade had some traces of blood on it. Brotherhood was still all blue.

Yuna used recovery magic on Carole while she was looking at Tidus.

"Are you okay?" she inquired.

"Yeah, I'm all good. I'm sorry."

"Stop that, I hurt myself."

"What happened anyway? You looked like you blacked out for half a second."

"I… I dunno, I feel like time stopped there for half a second. Yeah, maybe I blacked out."

Tidus grabbed her shoulder.

"I guess it's getting too late for that, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I know I promised you a fight and I gave you a poor one."

"Important thing is you're alright. There should be other times to fight, times with more light actually."

"Yeah, let's try that," she replied with a smile.

Yuna rested her hands on her thighs and sighed.

"There, it's finished."

Carole checked her palm and found no scar left. She closed her fingers and opened them back again. No tension, they were not numb. Like there never was a wound.

"I just love that," she said with a smile.

She jumped back on her feet and quickly wiped the little blood that remained on her blade before putting it back against her leg. Tidus got up and offered his hand to Yuna to help her up before ever thinking about his own sword. When Yuna got up, her feet got tangled on one another and she tripped. Tidus caught her and held her close for a moment. One of Carole's eyebrow flinched when she caught sight of that, but it was replaced too fast for the eye to see by a smile.

"Let's get back to camp," she suggested. "While we can still see where it is."

Tidus released Yuna and got Brotherhood back. He turned towards the campsite.

"I thought someone was supposed to start a fire."

"Yeah, it's true. I wonder what's wrong with that."

They headed towards the camp together.

At the camp site, Veronique let out a light moan and put her hand on her forehead. Wakka, sitting next to her, arched an eyebrow and looked at her, placing a concerned hand on her back.

"Something wrong, ya?"

"I guess I'm tired, I'm used to traveling between worlds through instant portals, or flying, so walking around is kinda new to me."

She stuck her tongue out at him and winked.

"I'll be okay, but thanks for worrying."

Wakka nodded and turned back to Lulu.

_Dammit… It keeps getting tougher…_

Carole, Tidus and Yuna came back to the site. Yuna went to sit back on her blanket next to Lulu and Tidus sat on the ground next to her again.

"What, the fire is not lit yet?" Carole asked arching an eyebrow.

"Zell almost used up all his matches and still couldn't light up crap," Seifer's voice came from inside one of the tents.

A flash suddenly came from further from the camp.

"Watch out!" Dave's voice called.

Carole spun around to see a large fireball fly towards her. She just had the time to move aside.

"Whoa!"

The fireball flew right to the middle of the camp and exploded right in Zell's wood pile he was desperately trying to light up, forcing everyone to get up and move backwards to avoid being burned. Zell being the closest to the fire, he did a startled leap backwards and stumbled into the tent behind him, which unfortunately was Seifer's.

Dave came running with Quistis, Auron walking after them like there was no rush.

"Everybody okay?" Dave inquired with concern. "We were fighting a flan and that firaga went the wrong way."

"Got the fire lit up at least," Carole said.

"Seriously, Zell, you needed help from a Fire Flan to light up a bonfire?" Irvine teased.

Annoyed movements came from the collapsed tent.

"What the… will you get off me?" Seifer's angry voice commanded.

Zell was stumbled outside the tent, Seifer getting out after him and frowning angrily at him. He was not wearing his grey trench coat.

"Hey Zell, if you wanna get into Seifer's tent that bad, the entrance is at the front!" Squall suddenly cut in as he arrived with Kerry.

"Like hell I would sleep in the same tent as Chicken-Wuss!"

"Hey!" Zell complained.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Audrey exclaimed. "You're getting your hands OFF my Seifer!"

"What the hell!?"

Everyone burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Come now, Zell," Rachel interrupted. "I've made you some hot dogs."

Zell's face lightened up and he hurried to her where she handed him a couple fresh made hot dogs.

"Where did you get the meat to make those, anyway?" Dave asked.

"I'm pretty sure we don't want to know," Quistis cut in.

"Not like usual hot dogs are made of meat, anyway," Adam added.

Rachel had a load ready so she looked up.

"Yuna, Tidus, Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri, Rikku, Grumpy, have some hot dogs À-la-Balamb!"

She handed some to everyone.

"Thank you."

"Right on!"

"Aha! I'm hungry!"

"It smells good."

"Yay!"

Kimahri took his without a word but Auron simply shook his head, politely refusing any.

"Hmph."

"Your loss, more for the others!"

Squall and Kerry joined up with Carole at the spot they were sitting on earlier and they sat down. Carole handed them both some hot dogs she saved for them before Zell would let his bottomless pit of a stomach take over and eat everything. They were next to Tidus and Yuna.

"So, how was the fight?" Squall inquired, curious.

"Well," Tidus started.

"Was a draw," Carole quickly cut him. "I like to fight him better than I do you, though. He's more at my level. You are too strong for me."

She sent a pleading look towards Tidus so he nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, was pretty close but then it got too dark to see clearly so we just stopped and decided to continue some other time."

Squall nodded approvingly, taking a bite of his hot dog.

"Wise decision," he said after swallowing. "Was the main reason why Kerry and I got back, it was getting dangerous."

He brought his hot dog up to his face to check it with more care and turned to Rachel.

"This ain't half bad, how did you make it?"

Carole pointed a finger at her sister, shaking it a threatening, but playful way.

"Don't say it. We don't need to know, and we don't want to know!"

"Yeah, as long as it tastes good, and doesn't make us sick, who cares how it's made!" Zell exclaimed gulping down another one and choking up in the process.

Quistis, Squall and Selphie held their head down and shook it slowly, sighing as Zell desperately reached out for a bottle of water set on the ground on the other side of Rachel, knocking her off in the process.

"Ouch!"

Zell eagerly popped the bottle open and took a couple mouthful of water, some of it leaking from the corner of his lips, down each side of his face to meet in a single stream under his chin before dropping to the ground, one drop at a time. Finally, he pulled the bottle from his face, heavily breathing out. He coughed a couple times and wiped his mouth with his forearm. He sat back down on his seat and looked at Rachel, trying to get back on her own.

"What are you doing down there?" he asked.

She jumped on her feet and frowned angrily at him.

"You hit me, you dolt!" she said punching him on the shoulder.

"Ow! Sorry," he said rubbing his shoulder.

She sat down, crossing her legs and folding her arms, looking the other way.

"And after all the trouble I went through to make you hot dogs…" she grumbled.

"Come, on, I said I was sorry!" he apologized in a softer tone than he usually used, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I was choking, what, you wanted me to choke?"

She turned back to him and glared at him.

"You wouldn't choke if you weren't such a pig!" she blamed him.

"You just made them so good, I couldn't help myself!"

"Awwwwww…" Carole trailed off looking at them, rounding her lips in a kiss expression.

Kerry laughed light heartedly, mimicked by others in the process, but Rachel's face softened and she unfolded her arms. She turned herself completely to face Zell and he wrapped his arms around her. It had become common for Squall to demonstrate his affection towards his bride-to-be with all that happened between them, but it was pretty seldom for Zell to do it, so the laughter stopped. On the other side of the fire, Audrey finally settled and stopped glaring suspiciously at Zell, and released her possessive grip on Seifer's arm just a little. He tightened the muscle a little to get rid of the pins and needles he felt tickling inside. The camp turned silent after everyone was done with their food except for the sound of the cracking fire. Couples got closer to one another, staring into the hypnotizing dance of the ever moving flames.

"A firaga spell sure lights a good fire," Dave said to end this quite nice, but boring silence. "Funny you tried to use _matches_ and didn't think about doing it yourself."

Zell frowned.

"I don't have any fire spells junctionned, and I said I would light the fire, so I went with what I had."

"But technically, you're not the one who lit it, it was the flan."

"What, you want me to thank him maybe? Would be hard since you turned him into pyreflies."

"Well, that was not me either, it was Quistis."

"Great! So we're both good-for-nothings, then!"

The two started laughing. The stars started flickering on one at a time, flashing in the cloud free night sky.

Kerry started rocking herself, staring in the fire. Carole turned to Lulu on the other side of the fire.

"Say, Lulu? Why do they call this place the Calm Lands?" she asked.

Everyone turned to the older woman to listen to her explanation.

"These plains were once a battlefield," she started in her usual deep tone. "A great battle between Bevelle and Zanarkand, a melee of machine. That war left this place a barren, lifeless land. Then, time passed. The summoners took note of this inhabited land. Great battles could be fought here with no harm to the common folk. Perfect for a final battle with Sin, as it were. Summoners wait here, ready to perform the Final Summoning. When Sin is defeated here, the Calm will visit Spira once more. That's why this place is known as the Calm Lands. Exactly who dubbed it so is unknown."

"Wow… so basically, this is where it all… ends, right?" Tidus asked.

Lulu nodded in a slow movement. Rikku got up to grab Tidus' hand and take him aside, while the others kept chatting.

"She's not stopping, is she?" she asked him.

"Yuna… she's made her decision."

"But, I can't just let her go."

"We won't have to. We'll save Yuna even if she calls the Final Aeon."

"But how?" Rikku wondered putting a fist on her hip.

"I'll think of a way."

"But what if you can't?"

Tidus frowned and folded his arms.

"I'm tired of talking to you. It's always 'but' this, 'but' that."

"But…"

"Let's think together!"

"Okay."

"And if we can't think of something, we find another way!"

"Okay! Ugh! This is a toughie!"

Rikku went to sit down back in front of the fire. Tidus noticed Auron standing outside the outskirts of the camp, arms folded across his chest as usual, his face mostly hidden behind his sun glasses, even though it was pitch black, and his large collar.

"Messy," the man said.

"What is?"

"Yevon. Mika and Seymour are not of one mind. Remember what Seymour said last we met. I do not think Mika will concur. If Yevon founders, so will Spira."

Auron remained silent afterwards, leaving Tidus thoughtful as he headed back to his seat next to Yuna. When he sat down, she turned to him, showing a little concern.

"So, we are officially traitors, then."

"Hey, let them say what they want," he said, trying to cheer her up.

"It's okay, I'm not worried," she assured before she lowered her head and sighed heavily. "Well, maybe just a little. It's so hard not to be."

"Hey, it's okay to worry. And if it gets too rough, just yell!"

"Yell? Hmm… Okay, I might just do that."

"Yeah!"

Yuna smiled and looked at the sky.

"I wonder if my father got lost here, too."

"Maybe, with my old man helping him!" Tidus figured placing his hands behind his head.

"Maybe I'll ask Sir Auron."

"Auron? That grouch never tells me anything."

Yuna giggled.

"'That's none of your business!'" she said in a deep voice in an attempt to imitate Auron's voice.

"Not that he keeps out of other people's business, you know what I mean?"

She nodded then stared in front of her, thoughtful.

"Just a little further to Zanarkand."

While Yuna and Tidus were having their conversation, Adam turned to Lulu.

"Lulu, who was that man you talked to when we got here? You seemed to know him."

"Until half a year ago, he was a summoner. Wakka and I were his guardians."

"It was kind of a short pilgrimage," Wakka added.

"He gave up half way," Lulu continued. "Here, on this plain. Now he is a monk at the Bevelle temple. This is my third pilgrimage as a guardian. Father Zuke was my second. And my first, well… It ended here, too. I've never been to the lands beyond. Mt. Gagazet towers to the north and Zanarkand lies beyond that."

Adam noticed she hesitated about her first pilgrimage and figured something must have happened. He was tempted to ask her about it, but she looked away, telling she was not willing to say anymore than what was absolutely necessary, so he did not insist.

"When I was guarding Zuke…" Wakka told. I was too into the game to be a good guardian. So when Father Zuke said he wanted out… Tell you the truth, I was kinda glad."

He took a deep breath and looked forward.

"Zanarkand's right around the corner. So close already."

While the others were talking, Kimhari had come closer to the fire, willing to be able to hear more efficiently to the conversation, and eventually, share information he had about the road ahead. Since no one ever went past the Calm Lands, he was the only one who knew.

"Gagazet is Ronso land," he said. "Kimahri home."

Kerry looked at him, her face lightening up.

"We might meet your family!" she supposed.

"Kimahri has no family," he answered shaking his head.

The girl lowered hers in apology.

"Oh, sorry," she said, uneasy.

"But Kimahri not alone."

Kerry brought her head up and smiled warmly at him.

"No, you're not alone, Kimahri. We're all here."

He nodded once.

"Sacred mountain Gagazet. Not change for one thousand years."

"We're gonna have to climb I suppose," Carole cut in.

"We'll make it," Squall assured.

She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He wrapped an arm around her and his hand clenched her shoulder a little harder than he first wanted to. He was even slightly shaking, but it did not go unnoticed by his girlfriend. She looked up to his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a whisper.

He released his grip, smiling at her a reassuring way.

"I love you," he whispered with a warm smile.

She put her head back on his shoulder.

"Nice way to change the subject," she said sarcastically.

"Isn't it?"

She giggled and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder.

"I love you too."

The group kept on chatting for a while longer. About an hour later, Dave got up first, stretching his back.

"I'm going to sleep now. See you tomorrow."

Quistis got up after him.

"I will too. Good night."

They headed for a tent and went in together. Soon after, Adam and Rinoa followed them, sharing the same tent. One after the other, everyone went inside the tents. Still strongly refusing to share the same tent as Zell, Seifer and Audrey were sharing theirs with Irvine and Selphie. Squall and Carole had only Kerry sharing their tent. Auron decided to take the first watch of the night and Kimahri volunteered to take the next. Lulu, Rikku and Yuna shared a tent while Tidus and Wakka shared the other with Kimahri.

There were only a few blankets to cover themselves with, but the night was not cold. Carole and Squall took off their jackets, boots and socks. Kerry took off her shoes, socks and her vest, keeping a shirt and her skirt on to sleep. Carole took off her pants, not willing to sleep in her leather pants at all. She only kept her top on with her panties. Kerry did not really want to keep her skirt either. Would it have been only Carole, she would have taken it off, but with Squall… He noticed her hesitation so he smiled at her.

"If you want to sleep without it, I'll turn around while you take it off and get under the blankets."

She nodded shyly. She was a little uncomfortable, but not worried, she knew Squall could be trusted. He turned around and she took her skirt off, putting it aside with the rest of her clothes and she hid under the blankets.

"I'm done," she said.

Squall took off his shirt then turned around. He would sleep topless. When he did, Kerry blushed. Carole put a hand on her shoulder, amused.

"Not bad, huh?" she asked, causing her junior to blush some more.

Carole giggled.

"I'm just teasing you, K-chan."

Squall took off his two crossed belts before getting under the blankets, sitting. Carole was still sitting over them, between Squall and Kerry. Although a little embarrassed, Kerry still eyed Squall a few times.

"You are very handsome, Squall…" she whispered.

She blushed even more like she could not believe she just said those words. Squall leant forward to see Kerry on Carole's other side and smiled.

"Thank you, I appreciate the compliment."

She clenched the blankets in her fists, staring at them like they were the most interesting thing she has ever seen.

Carole looked the other side of Squall and reached out for his shirt.

"If you don't keep it, then I will wear it tonight, I don't like sleeping with my top. If I move around too much, I will lose it."

She put on Squall's white shirt. It was just right for Squall, but on her, with her curves, it gave the shirt a different look. The SeeD leader could not help feel a strong attraction towards her at that moment. For a second, he almost wished Kerry would not have been sleeping with them. He slapped himself mentally to get rid of that idea. He knew how Carole was fond of her and vice versa. Carole laid down first, followed with Kerry. Squall rested his face on his palm a moment, staring at the two. Carole lifted her arm and allowed Kerry to get closer. She was getting better at fighting, but it was the first time they were sleeping outside and she was a little insecure. She did not even say a word, Carole just knew. Squall was amazed at how those two were getting along so well.

Squall finally lay down as well, putting an arm over Carole's stomach, resting on his side.

"Good night, you two. Sleep well, we probably have a long way to go tomorrow."

"Good night," Kerry said in a low, tired voice.

"Sleep well," Carole added.

She shut her eyes and slowly drifted to sleep. Squall took a little longer, watching Carole as she slept. She looked peaceful now, unlike the previous night. The image of her horrified face came back in his mind and he clenched his hand on her stomach. Whatever was happening to her, at least she was not worrying over it anymore. He was. Although he did not like being worried about her, he did not mind being worried alone if she could have some peace. He closed his eyes, resting his cheek against her shoulder to eventually fall asleep as well.

Outside, Auron was sitting in front of the fire, throwing wood in it from time to time to keep it burning, spreading a small light over the entire camp. He stood watch the whole night. He did not wake Kimahri up to take his shift.

_A/N: Started this chapter right after the last one, but got stuck at the end. At first I wanted to put in the fight with the golem, but then I decided to keep this chapter a funny break from fighting. I also want to thank a million times my biggest fan, and very good friend Ric Leonheart for the bonfire idea. When he gave it to me, I laughed so hard I just had to do it. Everything is pretty much exactly as he described it to me. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I've been finishing lots of unfinished stuff lately and this fanfic that I put aside for way too long is next on my list! _


	25. Chapter 24: Side trip

**Chapter 24: Side Trip**

            When morning rose, so did the SeeDs. They were used to getting up early. One after the other, they came out of their tent. There was a light fog covering the Calm Lands, but it was lifting up quickly. Auron was still sitting in front of what was left of the fire. The first ones to get up quickly packed up their blankets and tents, gathering everything up so they would be able to leave quickly.

            Once everything was packed, everyone took a quick bite for breakfast and prepared to leave. Kimahri stared at Auron after realizing he stood watch the whole night, but did not say a word.

            "Everybody ready?" Auron inquired.

            Everyone took a last look around them to check if they did not forget anything then nodded.

            "Good, let's go."

            He started walking ahead, Yuna following right away with Tidus on her tail. The rest of her guardians followed close behind. Rachel folded her arms, pouting.

            "Could say it a nicer way, Grumpy…"

            Zell granted her a light pat on the back and moved forward. The group was set in motion for a walk of undetermined time.

            More than half of the day had gone by when they reached the path leading outside the Calm Lands. Some let out their joy and relief with sighs and joyful exclamations. On the other side of the path through the mountain, there was a bridge over a small ravine and another one further ahead. The group headed for the first one, but before they could even reach it, two Guado came running from a path leading inside the ravine and under the second bridge. The path was right next to the bridge and going down under in a curve. When they caught sight of them and their threatening faces, the SeeDs immediately took out their weapons, ready for the worst. The two Guado stopped in front of the group.

            "Halt!" one said.

            "Summons from Lord Seymour," the other one added. "Come with us."

            "Ha! Zell exclaimed punching the air in front of him. "You wish!"

            Yuna stepped forward.

            "We have nothing to discuss with Maester Seymour!"

            Tidus and Wakka jumped in front of Yuna. Kimahri and Rikku stood right behind, gesturing.

            "Yeah, so out of our way!" Tidus advised.

            One of the Guado walked towards the cliff under the other bridge.

            "Lord Seymour's commands must be obeyed. You will come!"

            "I warn you, the maester doesn't need you alive," the other one threatened.

            The ground started shaking at regular intervals. A large golem type monster arrived from the path under the bridge. A large stone golem, his arms dangling left and right as he walked up in front of the group and attacked. The two Guado headed behind the golem to wait for the outcome of the battle.

            "Morning exercise!" Zell exclaimed.

            "Right behind ya!" Tidus added.

            Carole shook her head in disapproval but could not help and smile.

            "Those two, I swear!"

            She turned to Kerry.

            "Ready K-chan?"

            "I don't know how useful I can be, but I am!" she exclaimed with determination, taking her knives out.

           The range fighters formed a line behind the others and the healers and mages stood on the side, preparing themselves. The blade wielders started taking turns slashing at the golem, Tidus first. When he slashed, the golem did not even flinch, causing the blonde to freeze for a second.

            "Well that didn't do much," he stated, disappointed.

            "More like did nothing!" Zell added when he took a step back to give a punch at the monster himself.

            He jumped backwards and shook his fist.

            "Damn, this thing is hard!"

            The golem suddenly turned to him and hurried towards him. It withdrew one of its fists backwards and threw a Blast Punch right in Zell's stomach, cutting his breath dead in his chest. He widened his eyes in surprise and he flew back through the others gathered behind him. Some got thrown on their backs when he hit them while others tried to form a net to catch him. Dave was the one who managed to break his fall.

            "Zell!" Rachel exclaimed running to him.

            Squall traced her as well, hoping that punch did not harm his friend too badly as he stepped forward to place himself between the monster and the wounded.

            Dave had to hold Zell up. When Rachel got to them, she grabbed Zell's face and lifted it to her face. He was out cold.

            "Zell! Wake up!"

            Quistis came close and used a Cura spell on him. His head nodded a little and he opened his eyes. His feet got more assured and he stood on his own, reaching a hand to his forehead and shutting his eyes with a frown.

            "Ow, damn!"

            He coughed and took a deep breath.

            "Are you okay?" Rachel inquired under the watchful eye of Quistis while Dave stood in front of them to watch their backs.

            "Yeah. I was not expecting that at all."

            He turned back to the fight and watched the monster use the same attack on Selphie this time. She went flying as well, but Irvine was quick enough to catch her in mid-air.

            "Booyaka! This thing likes to counter-attack with that move, watch out everyone!"

            "Thanks, we kinda figured it out," Seifer said as he ran and slashed across the monster, pulling the trigger when the blade was half-way through.

            The golem was using Blast Punch as a counter-attack, but not all the time. It was hard to figure out when it would. That attack was harmful, but even the normal punches were very painful to get. As if that was not enough, it was very resistant to physical attacks. Lulu went all out once that was made clear. The three gunbladers managed to do a little extra damage, but it was still not enough.

            Auron slashed along with Tidus and Kimahri while Rinoa switched from her Shooting Star to spell casting. Irvine kept firing along with Adam and Wakka kept throwing his ball which did close to nothing on the monster. Auron and Kimhari were the ones to do most of the damage because their weapons could pierce through thick armors. Kerry did her best along with Selphie, watched closely by Carole who wanted to make sure she would not get counter-attacked. She was always ready to push her out of the way and get that attack herself. But it did not happen.

            "How much longer is this gonna take?" Audrey asked as she stepped backwards after an attack of her twin circles.

            "We can't give up anyway!" Squall told. "Keep at it!"

            With force slashing again and again, Tidus built himself up and unleashed his Slice and Dice Overdrive. He started running across the place and slashing every time he got close to the golem. After a few hits, he ran back to the others. The golem kept punching or Blast Punching, giving lots of work to the healers, forcing some fighters to turn into healers. Yuna was unable to keep up.

            The golem heavily walked to Tidus and he braced himself, expecting the Blast Punch again, but the golem raised both his huge fists over his head and brought them down right on him, shaking the ground in the process.

            "Argh!" Tidus yelled as he collapsed.

            He did not move from where he was and the golem lost all interest in him, turning to Squall who just slashed him from behind.

            "Come on, get over here!" he called.

            He got hit by the Blast Punch and quickly got back on his feet like it was nothing. On her part, Carole remained standing a little aside, staring at the immobile shape of Tidus on the ground. She could see his closed eyes from where she was. She felt her heart skip a beat although she was not the only one.

            "No!" Yuna screamed as she left the safety of the spot where she was to run to him.

            Carole shut her eyes and went back to the fight, hoping with all her heart that he was fine. She stood by Squall's side and he nodded at her, understanding her concern.

            Some only noticed at that point that there was something hovering around the golem, whipping it from time to time. Veronique was trying to attract its attention to give the others a little break from the punches.

            Yuna kneeled next to Tidus and Wakka joined her quickly. Kimhari moved in front of them to protect Yuna while she was performing her healing.

            "He okay, ya?"

            Tidus was covered with dust and dirt and from the way some of his limbs looked, he had many broken bones. Some blood was dripping from the corner of his lips. Yuna was having a hard time staying calm and focusing on the healing.

            From a little further ahead, Auron was eyeing the trio from time to time, feeling pretty worried himself but of course, refusing to let it show. He kept running at the golem and slashing it. His attacks were slightly stronger all of a sudden.

            Yuna used Curaga, but it did nothing. Nothing at all. She tried again. And again. Seeing it was not doing any good, tears started coming to her eyes. Moving around the place and attacking the golem, Carole realized something was wrong. She hurried to Squall who got punched once again, gritting his teeth.

            "Squall, something's wrong. Yuna's magic is not doing anything!"

            The leader took a look and noticed the lack of change so he stood down.

            "I'll do what I can."

            Hearing those words calmed her down a lot. She had full confidence in him, she knew he would help. She ran back to the golem with revenge in mind as Squall hurried to the wounded blonde on the side.

            Noticing someone next to her, Yuna looked up, having a hard time holding her tears.

            "Let me," Squall asked.

            He kneeled next to them and checked on Tidus, placing a hand on his chest and bending over his face to feel a breath.

            "He's very weak, but I can still help."

            He closed his eyes and focused on one of the spells he had in him. A white light wrapped up around Tidus when he unleashed Life. The blood vanished and the broken bones mended themselves. Whatever inner injuries he had disappeared as well. His eyes flashed open, startling both Yuna and Wakka. He took a sudden deep breath and sat up. Yuna breathed out, reaching a hand to her chest.

            "Thank goodness."

            "Strong spell, ya?" Wakka inquired.

            "As long as he was still alive I could use that. But I don't have that much inside me, so everyone will have to be very careful."

            Tidus looked around, a little lost for a second.

            "What happened?"

            "I was so worried, I thought you were dead," Yuna explained.

            The blonde brought his eyes to Squall.

            "Thanks for that."

            "Don't mention it," he said as he got up.

            Tidus tried to get up as well, but had to sit back down when everything started spinning around him.

            "Whoa, easy," Wakka advised when he caught him.

            Tidus reached for his forehead with a moan.

            "I only healed your lethal wounds, but the spell did not give you your strength back. That's when Yuna can come in again."

            "Yes!" she exclaimed as she cast Curaga on Tidus.

            Feeling immediately revitalized, Tidus smiled and grabbed Brotherhood.

            "Thanks! Here I go again!"

            Relieved, Yuna went back to her place next to Lulu who smiled comfortingly at her and Wakka went back with the range fighters.

            When she saw him get up, Carole breathed out with relief herself. Squall came to her, his gunblade in hand.

            "A little more and I would have been powerless. Better watch out for that move, it packs a deadly punch."

            "I'm just glad he's okay."

            Everyone did their best to bring the golem down, but it just did not want to drop. The move that almost killed Tidus, Haymaker, was unfortunately used again. This time, Zell got it as he moved a little too close to the monster. It raised both hands over its head once more and brought them down.

            "Zell, get away!" Squall tried to warn.

            There was just no time to move and the ground shook when Zell got hit. He collapsed as well and did not get up either.

            "Oh my god…" Rachel trailed off.

            "Cover me," Squall asked his girlfriend.

            Her heart racing in her chest, she nodded and ran in, slashing and firing. Seifer came to her side and did the same thing, trying to keep the monster busy while Squall retrieved their deadly wounded friend.

            He placed his hands under his shoulders and pulled him away. Not wasting and time, he cast Life once more. The lethal wounds were healed and a Curaga spell hit Zell immediately after, cast by Yuna who only waited for the opportunity to cast it. Squall nodded at her and Zell jumped on his feet, pumping his fist.

            "Sorry, I got careless," he said scratching the back of his head. "Thanks for the Life spell."

            "Don't mention it," Squall said with a smile, happy to see his old friend well.

            "Let's finish this now!"

            Rachel had frozen when she saw Zell go down, but the moment he came back on his feet, she found her own strength back and dashed the golem. She gave off a red light as she jumped, her axe over her head, ready to bring it down with all her strength.

            "Will you die already?!"

            Her axe went clean through and the golem finally went down. Like someone pulled it apart, the arms fell from the rest of the body, then the body collapsed and the legs followed. Once they were sure it would not get back up, everyone gathered up to make sure everyone was alright.

            "Anybody else has some Life spells? I don't have much more."

            "I have some," Quistis assured.

            "Yeah, me too," Seifer added. "But only like three of four, I'm not sure."

            "Lucky we did or it could have been much worse. We have to be more careful," Squall advised.

            Everyone nodded, agreeing.

            The guados were gone. Surely they fled when they noticed their monster would not win. Tidus walked forward to check the road going under the bridge.

            "This isn't the way in?" he asked.

            "This way leads down into the valley," Lulu told.

            "Wow, you know your way around, ya?" Wakka asked, impressed.

            Lulu ignored him and walked forward. She seemed disturbed.

            "Huh?" Wakka trailed off scratching the back of his head wondering what he said wrong.

            As the group walked down the slope, those that were more or less seriously wounded during the battle were smothered by the ones who were not, willing to be absolutely sure they were all right. Rachel was holding tightly on Zell's arms, concern and fear showing on her face despite Zell's usual cheerful smile. Yuna was walking side by side with Tidus, her heart still racing in her chest even though he was assuring her he was fine.

            Even though she was trying to stand a little to the side as to not bother anybody, Veronique could not help but be relieved everything turned out okay. Wakka noticed her concern and signaled for her to come next to him. She was not used to walking, mostly simply "poofing" from one place to another or floating around.

            "You did good there," he told her.

            "You think so?" she asked slightly embarrassed. "I don't think I did much."

            "Thanks to you distracting the monster, we were able to take care of the wounded, ya?"

            "I suppose."

            Walking besides his fiancée, Squall noticed immediately how she was not taking her eyes off Tidus. She had also grabbed her necklace and not let go since the fight ended. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, causing her to jump, startled. She turned her head to him, her heart racing in her chest.

            "He's alright, you see?" he tried to reassure her.

            She shook her head.

            "I know, it's just… for a moment I really thought he was dead and I…"

            "It's okay. We'll be more careful next time."

            Walking on her other side, Kerry was also smiling comfortingly.

            "It's okay, C-chan. I'll get stronger and be able to help everybody better, you'll see."

            Carole could not help but smile at her enthusiasm. She also felt a little better.

            "You're right. Thanks, both of you."

           Down in the valley, there was an entrance to a cave on the foot wall and one person was walking around in front of it, a Crusader. The place seemed free of monsters so some scattered around the place to gather some information. The place was sacred to the Crusaders because it was where lady Yocun trained. She was a Crusader before becoming a summoner. After a moment, everyone ended up gathering in front of the cave. Rikku started zigzagging towards the entrance before running inside while the others were getting closer. She ran back out, curious.

            "Where are we?" she asked.

            "The fayth is inside," Lulu explained approaching. "As are the fiends."

            Zell placed a hand on his shoulder and started spinning his arm around, stretching it.

            "Well as long as it's not another nearly invulnerable golem, it's fine by me."

            Wakka widened his eyes in surprise and turned to Lulu.

            "Hey, this where…?"

            Lulu nodded and Yuna got closer to her.

            "Where what?" Tidus inquired putting his hands behind his head.

            "The summoner I guarded on my first pilgrimage…" Lulu started. "Died here."

            A heavy silence followed the revelation. Adam looked at Lulu with a sorry look on his face, as if he finally understood why protecting Yuna was so important to her. Tidus turned to Rikku who shook her head.

            "Yuna, let's go," Lulu said. "The fayth awaits."

            Auron walked in first and Kimahri followed him immediately. Yuna was standing ahead of Tidus, waiting for him so he hurried inside ahead of her. Rikku went in as well while Wakka stared at Lulu for a second, then he went in as well, followed with his sister. Left alone with the SeeDs behind, Lulu took a deep breath looking at the sky before following the others.

            "So there's a fayth down there?" Kerry asked a little confused.

            "Apparently."

            "Weird place to put a fayth if you ask me," Zell commented, folding his arms.

            "Nobody asked you," Seifer said with a smirk, teasing.

            Zell frowned and waved his fist at Seifer.

            "You know what? I think you do this on purpose! 'Cuz you like it."

            Seifer walked forward and Zell stood ready, just in case but instead of preparing to fight, Seifer brushed the top of Zell's head.

            "Of course I like it, because it annoys you."

            "Huh?"

            Seifer walked in, Audrey quickly following behind while Zell traced him, clueless.

            "What the hell just happened?"

            Some smiled and other laughed discreetly, but all followed Seifer inside the cave.

            "What happened, Zell, is that Seifer is not trying to be mean to you anymore," Squall explained. "He's not saying those things just to piss you off, he's doing it to tease you."

            "When the hell did that happen!?" Zell exclaimed, bewildered.

            "Come on, Zell," Rachel pressed him, pulling his arm.

            After walking through a small hall, the cave opened in a somewhat circular room.

            "What's a fayth doing in a place like this?" Rikku asked, creeped out.

            "Don't ask me!" Tidus said folding his arms.

            "They say it was stolen from a temple long ago," Lulu explained.

            "Huh?" Tidus asked.

            "With no fayth, summoners cannot train," Auron pointed out. "Without training, they cannot call the Final Aeon. Without the Final Aeon, they cannot defeat Sin. That is why."

            "'Cause then the summoner won't die!" Rikku understood, psyched up.

            "That must be what the thief was thinking," Wakka supposed.

            Rikku looked at Tidus and the both of them turned their head to Yuna.

            "I kinda agree with him," Tidus said in a low tone.

            Rikku nodded.

            The group walked carefully through the fiend filled cave, fighting their way through as usual. They found a few lost items along the way until they got to the back of the cave. Something caused the ones on the front to stop suddenly.

            "Peh! Another Guado fiend?" Wakka asked, getting ready.

            "No," Kimahri said shaking his head. "An Unsent."

            Many pyreflies started gathering together right in front of them to form the image of a woman. Lulu's face abruptly changed and she walked forward to her.

            "It is… It's you, is it not, Lady Ginnem?"

            Her tone was completely different than it ever was before. This time, it was soft, even sad, filled with remorse.

            "Forgive me," she asked lowering her head. "I was too young."

            Auron looked at Yuna and she knew what she had to do so she stepped forward with her staff. As she started dancing to perform the sending, Lady Ginnem attacked her, interrupting her in her duty.

            "There is no human left in you, is there?" Lulu asked with her head still down.

            The Unsent gestured in another attack.

            "Very well, then. Allow me to perform my last duty to you. My last as your guardian."

            The Unsent stood in front of the group and started summoning. A strange being appeared. Tall, large, wearing a strange overall orange coat with a large round hat on its head. It had a long katana in a hand and what was even stranger, there was a chubby orange dog next to it, waiting for its command.

            "Get ready!" Squall told everyone.

            The SeeDs all took their weapons out, but the limited light and space was going to make things difficult. Tidus attacked it first, willing to help Yuna at all costs, but when he struck, the sword barely got through the orange coat that proved to be pretty thick as well.

            "Damn, what is that made of?"

            "Let me try!" Rikku asked running to the aeon.

            She gave it a good punch with her weapon but it did not have more effect than Tidus' slash. Refusing to give up, Kimahri ran forward and slashed upwards with his spear, barely doing anything either.

            "Okay, that's gonna be a problem," Tidus stated with a frown.

            Lulu raised her arms over her head and cast Firaga on the aeon. This time, it staggered.

            "Magic seems to be effective," she told the others. "Don't hold back now."

            Rinoa stepped forward and started casting spells. Lulu kept casting more every time she could. Some of the SeeDs did the same, but to the surprise of some of them, Veronique was standing behind.

            "Come on," Carole encouraged her. "You can cast spells too."

            The witch looked away a little embarrassed.

            "I can't."

            "Why not?"

            "I don't have any spells to cast," she whispered.

            Carole widened her eyes in surprise. She was not expecting that.

            "You're kidding, right?"

            "There are lots of things I can do, and casting spells is not one of them. Not the same spells you use at least. I'm not a sorceress like you got in your world."

            "I suppose so, sorry. I guess you can try and get its attention again, then?"

            "Sure, I can do that!"

            She jumped in the air and started levitating towards the aeon, hovering around it, taunting it.

            "Hey, over here! Try to catch me, big guy!"

            While the aeon was trying to slash Veronique like she was an annoying fly buzzing around its head, the others kept casting as many spells as they could while those who did not have any elemental spells still tried to deal as minimal damage as they could.

            Squall stepped forward, gunblade held back in a hand, the other in front of his face as he was focusing to cast Flare. Carole came to his side to cast a spell herself, focusing on the magic. When Squall cast his, she got ready to do the same when she suddenly felt pain inside her head, breaking her concentration. She staggered and almost collapsed, but Squall noticed her dizziness and caught her.

            "Whoa, what's happening to you?"

            Carole shut her eyes tightly to try and silent the pain inside her head, a hand to her forehead, pressing hard against it.

            "My head hurts."

            "You okay?" Rachel came asking with concern.

            "Actually no," Carole answered in a low tone. "It never hurt that much before."

            Squall immediately got worried she would remember what happened two days back at the spring. He figured she might have blocked it out as an unpleasant memory, too hard to deal with and that maybe forcing herself to cast spells was calling on it. He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight.

            "Just take it easy, okay? Don't force yourself. There's enough of us to deal with it, leave it to us."

            He was holding tighter than he usually did simply to comfort her. She realized he was slightly trembling too.

            "Squall, are you okay?" she asked.

            He released her and smiled comfortingly at her, trying his best not to show anything more than that in that smile.

            "Hey, let me worry about you, okay? Just take it easy for a while."

            She nodded.

            "Watch out!" someone screamed.

            Squall instinctively placed himself in front of Carole, gunblade held in both hands in a defensive position, but the metallic sound that followed the warning did not come from a clash on his gunblade. It came from the aeon's katana clashing on Seifer's gunblade who had jumped in front of the couple.

            "Sorry to bother you both, but Squall, think you could give me a hand if she's good?"

            "Of course!"

            He jumped in, pushing his own blade against the aeon's along with Seifer.

            "Thanks for that, by the way," Squall told.

            Side by side, trying to hold off a long blade, the former rivals were now fighting together, no longer against each other.

            "Heh, I told you I would be helpful. Now let's get rid of this guy."

            "I'm with you."

            They pushed forward at the same time, sending the aeon back just in time to receive a jolt from a Thundaga spell unleashed by Lulu, followed with a Holy spell from Rinoa. Squall and Seifer nodded at each other and ran towards the aeon to keep it busy while the mages kept casting spells on it.

            Meanwhile, Rachel and Zell were both making sure Carole was alright along with Kerry who showed genuine concern as usual. They pulled her to the side of the cave to rest against the cool wall.

            "You okay, C-chan?"

            "Take it easy, sis."

            "Yeah, just rest."

            She was panting to try and ease the pain in her head. Those three going on telling her to rest and take it easy did not make it any easier.

            "Hyne, I'm so sick of hearing people telling me to take it easy! I just got up, okay, I don't need rest!"

            Her sudden outburst caused Rachel, Zell and Kerry to take a surprised step backwards. None of them moved or said another word for a few seconds, too shocked to do or say anything.

            "Sorry to care," Rachel finally said.

            Carole realized she yelled and closed her eyes.

            "Look, sorry about that. I'm not tired and I'm not sick, so please stop treating me as if I am. I just got a headache, it's not like it's the first time."

            "You sure?" Rachel insisted with a little fear that her sister would explode again.

            "Yeah, just give me a few minutes, I'll take a few deep breaths and everything will be okay. Just go help the others finish off that thing so we can get out of here."

            "I can do that," Zell cheered up pumping his fist.

            He nodded at his girlfriend and ran back to the fight. Rachel took a last look at her older sister and Kerry still standing next to her. Kerry nodded at her with determination, silently assuring her she would watch over her. Feeling better, trusting in the younger girl, Rachel went after Zell to finish the fight.

            Her back against the wall, Carole kept her eyes shut and took a long and deep breath.

            "Usually my headaches come slowly, not all of a sudden. I thought I was gonna throw up…"

            Kerry simply stood next to her, not saying anything.

            The aeon was no match for the guardians and the SeeDs and their magic. When it collapsed in pyreflies and disappeared, the Unsent finally found peace. Without a word, she vanished as well.

            "Strange," Lulu said with her head down. "I thought I would be sadder somehow."

            She wiped some tears from her eyes.

            "Maybe I've gotten used to farewells," she supposed.

            "You're stronger now," Wakka stated.

            "Wakka, I hope you're right," she said looking up before turning around. "Yuna, the fayth is inside. Go do what you came to do."

            Everyone put their weapons away. Tidus came closer to Yuna and Squall hurried back to Carole. She pushed herself off the wall and smiled when he arrived, but he could still see the frown of pain on her face despite the lack of light. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. He knew telling her to take it easy would only upset her so he kept quiet. She appreciated it. She walked back to meet up with everyone else, Squall and Kerry on her tail. They were trying to figure out how to get into the chamber of the fayth. It was blocked by a thick wall of rocks.

            "Hey, what does that do?" Zell asked pointing at a strange glowing and pulsing device on the ground.

            "A teleport pad," Auron answered.

            Pretty much everyone turned to him, expecting something more of an explanation as to what this device would do, but he kept silent. As usual.

            "It transports people to places unattainable by foot," Lulu explained. "When you step on it, you get transported to another pad in the direction the arrow on it points to."

            "It usually needs to be activated first, so not just anybody can get teleported," Wakka added. "Looks like this one is already activated, ya?"

            There was an arrow of light pulsing on it, pointing at the wall in front of them. Yuna looked at Tidus and he nodded with a smile. He grabbed her hand and both stepped on the platform. They disappeared in a trail of light heading straight through the wall.

            "Whoa, cool!" Rachel exclaimed.

            On the other side of the wall, there was a circular room with a hole in the middle. On the bottom of the hole lay the fayth. There were ribbons crossed over the hole, enter-twined with some sort of markings on them. Their purpose was unknown, maybe keep the fayth sealed in that cave. In the temples, the fayth were under some sorts of domes, but in this cave, there was no dome. Perhaps the ribbons were acting as such.

            Yuna went down on her knees and prayed, Tidus standing slightly behind her. She got back up and the room started shaking and turned dark as the voice of the fayth started echoing, singing the hymn. Tidus rushed to Yuna's side when the ghostly figure of a man appeared, floating in mid-air over the statue of the fayth.

            "I am the blade of vengeance," he spoke. "They dare only whisper my name: Yojimbo. Summoner, I ask you. What do you want of me? If you desire my strength, you must pay my price. Make your offer. I shall ask for two hundred fifty thousand gil."

            "T… two hundred fifty thousand!?" Tidus nearly choked. "What kind of fayth are you? Aren't you supposed to want to help the summoner? This is a rip-off!"

            He turned to Yuna. She lowered her head, checking her pockets.

            "We don't have that much, Yuna," he told her.

            "I know, but there must be a way."

            "You expect a phoenix, yet you offer chicken feed," the fayth said in an insulted tone. "No deal."

            Tidus and Yuna were literally thrown out of the room. They found themselves back with everyone else. Rikku quickly helped Yuna back up along with Kimahri while Wakka went for Tidus.

            "What happened?" he asked.

            "That stupid cheap fayth is asking for two hundred fifty thousand gil for his services. Must have been some kind of mercenary in the past."

            "Holy shit, two hundred fifty thousand!?" Zell exclaimed, shocked.

            "We don't even have half that," Lulu trailed off, discouraged.

            "Actually, I have that," Squall interrupted.

            All heads turned to him. In the past, it would have made him uncomfortable, not used to being the center of attention, usually keeping to himself, but he had gotten used to it.

            He walked to Yuna and took out the required amount. Some people had time to notice he had in fact even more than that.

            "Damn, where did you get all that?" Tidus inquired.

            "I don't spend much so when I get paid, I keep it. You can have it."

            Yuna shook her hands in front of her, highly embarrassed.

            "Oh, no, I couldn't! This is too much."

            "Take it. I'd be happy if you did. Think of it as my contribution to your journey, Lady Yuna."

            His hand still held out to her with the money in it, he gave her a nice smile. She placed both her hands on his and bowed, taking the money.

            "Thank you so much. I would like to say I will repay you, but I don't know if I would ever be able to get this much money again before you have to go back to your own world."

            "You don't have to pay me back. It's a gift."

            "Thank you, thank you so much."

            "Stop thanking me like that, it's getting embarrassing. Now go pay that guy."

            "Yes."

            She turned back to Tidus and grabbed his hand again, her other hand holding the money on her chest.

            "Thanks, man," Tidus said before the platform teleported both of them back into the room.

            "Well, aren't we a little show-off," Seifer told Squall.

            "What do you mean?"

            "Oh, come on, why the hell did you come here with all that in your pocket?"

            "Hey, if you remember right, we did not really have time to prepare when we got sucked here."

            "But why carry so much money?" Rikku inquired. "Aren't you worried someone will try to rob you?"

            "I'd like to see the unlucky bastard who would be stupid enough to try and rob Squall," Zell stated with laughter.

            "Hey, Carole, you must feel relieved that your man is gonna be able to support you," Audrey stated winking at her friend.

            "As if she's marrying him for that," Selphie objected.

            "And besides, C-chan doesn't need anybody to support her, she can support herself!"

            Everyone turned to Kerry, causing her to blush. Next to her, Carole smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm.

            "You got that right, K-chan. But it is nice to know that if there ever is an emergency, we'll be able to take care of it."

           "Or maybe I didn't have a reason to want to spend my money before," Squall said pressing his forehead against hers.

            They were interrupted when Tidus and Yuna reappeared in the room with wide smiles on their faces.

            "We managed to haggle!" Tidus exclaimed with pride. "It's not much, but we got him to come along for two hundred and five thousand instead of two fifty."

            Yuna walked to Squall, handing him back the forty five thousand left. He took it with a nod.

            "All right, consider your debt paid, Yuna."

            She bowed, thankful.

            "Let's get outta here, I'm getting sick of this place," Tidus said.

            Nobody objected as they started heading back to the entrance of the cave. Few monsters crossed their path, giving much joy to the fighters who did not have a chance to take a shot at Yojimbo. When the light of day started shining on them again, everyone had to cover their eyes for a moment, used to the darkness of the cave. As they walked out of the cave, Veronique eyed Carole a moment, walking between Squall and Kerry.

            "She can't even cast magic without it backfiring anymore… dammit..." she whispered to herself.

            Seeing the day was declining rapidly, they decided to take a rest in the valley and start climbing Gagazet in the morning with their full strength. The Crusaders around provided them with decent food that they gladly accepted. After a good meal and some nice relaxation, everybody went to bed and Auron stood watch once more.

            The next morning, everyone got up at day break and had a light breakfast before being set in motion. They thanked the Crusaders for their hospitality and the group climbed back up the slope and crossed the bridge. Everyone went up the path except Tidus. He turned around to look at Yuna standing on the bridge, facing the Calm Lands.

            _Sometimes she just stares off into the distance…_

She crossed the bridge, traced by him.

            _I finally understand why._

After a few steps, she stopped and turned around to look at him. She smiled and nodded. He caught up with her immediately.

            _She's saying goodbye to the places she'll never see again._

            They caught up with the rest of the group, heading towards Mt Gagazet, the last step before Zanarkand where everything was supposed to end.

_A/N: Ok this one took me way too long. I personally don't like it much, it's a little boring. Two boss fights and both are boring. I could have made the Yojimbo fight more exciting, but the truth is, my fight in the game was boring. It was boring with only the Spira people so add the others and Yojimbo's not even a challenge. Defeating Yojimbo in the game even on the first time you cross the Calm Lands (It's a side quest, you don't HAVE to do it right away) is very easy, it's getting the money to pay him that's a challenge. That's why it took me a while to do this chapter. As I said before, I play the game along the writing so raising the money to pay Yojimbo in the calm lands is damn long and annoying so I kept postponing it. Sorry about that. But I got material to write at least 2 chapters or more. I will do them faster, I swear. I have to cuz I had them planned for a long time now. Lots of good stuff happening. See ya there!_


	26. Chapter 25: The howl of the mountain

**Chapter 25: The howl of the mountain**

            A tunnel opened in front of the group. They walked through it, hearing the wind blowing strongly and feeling the temperature drop. The tunnel exited on a snowy mountain path slightly going up with stone pillars on each side of it. It was snowing lightly, the rare flakes carried around by the wind. Everyone climbed up the rocky path. It led them into a large opening. There was nothing around but Kimahri seemed uneasy. The ones closest to him noticed right away. His uneasiness found a reason when a large and tall yellow Ronso suddenly jumped in right in front of them, startling the group. From behind him arrived two more Ronso. One of them seemed older and looked familiar with his long green robe. It was none other than Kelk Ronso. The other was Yenke.

            "Summoner Yuna and guardians, leave here at once!" he commanded in a deep voice.

            Surprised, everyone looked around. They found themselves surrounded by Ronso gathered on top of the mountain walls. Wakka was standing next to Yuna with his arms folded, not the least bit impressed while Kimahri was on her other side, not showing any fear at all. Behind them, the SeeDs reached for their weapons but Squall waved his arm out at them, signalling them not to do anything.

            "Don't; they might take it as an act of aggressiveness," he advised in a low voice.

            "Gagazet is Ronso land, sacred mountain of Yevon," Kelk continued. "The mountain will not fear the footsteps of infidels!"

            The yellow Ronso who was in fact Biran they came across before, raised a threatening hand. Everyone stood on guard, trying their best not to jump on their weapons. They had no enemies upon the Ronso and nobody wished to make them enemies. They were vastly outnumbered and the Ronso were twice, some even three times their size.

            "Enemy of Yevon is enemy of Ronso!" he growled. "Leave, traitors!"

            "I have cast aside Yevon!" Yuna exclaimed. "I follow the temple no more!"

            "Then you will die by those words!" Kelk replied.

            That was the signal for the others to take their weapons out.

            "So be it," Yuna answered, not intimidated at all. "Yevon has warped the teachings and betrayed us all!"

            "Nothing but a bunch of low-down trickling, eh?" Wakka added, unfolding his arms.

            "Yeah! Yeah!" Tidus approved behind Wakka, throwing a fist in the air.

            "Yeah! Yeah!" Rikku mimicked him.

            "We have no regrets," Yuna said with a nod.

            "Blasphemers!" Yenke exclaimed angrily, stepping forward with spear in hand.

            Kimahri stepped in front of Yuna with an arm out and advanced towards the two Ronso. He stopped face to face with Biran who had more than a head over Kimahri. He was a lot larger too. Kimahri was not impressed, staring right back at him.

            "A summoner and her guardians…," Kelk trailed off behind Biran.

            "Lord Kelk Ronso, if I may," Lulu interrupted behind Kimahri. "Have you not also turned your back on Bevelle?"

            "But still, you guard Gagazet as a Ronso, not a maester," Auron added. "Yuna is much the same."

            Angry, Biran turned around.

            "Elder Kelk! Let Biran rend them asunder!" he demanded as Yenke came to his side.

            "No escape!" Yenke swore, amused. "Not one!"

            "No, we will not flee!" Yuna stated shaking her head. "We will fight, and continue on."

            "You have been branded a traitor," Kelk said, surprised. "But still you would fight Sin? Lost to the temple, hated by the people, yet you continue your pilgrimage?"

            He seemed confused and surprised, not knowing what to think anymore.

            "Everything lost! What do you fight for?" he inquired.

            Yuna lowered her gaze for a second then looked back at Kelk with a peaceful smile.

            "I fight for Spira," she answered. "The people long for the Calm, I can give it to them. It's all I can give. Defeating Sin, ending pain… this I can do."

            Touched by her words, Kelk lowered his head and shook it slowly.

            "Even sacrificing yourself?" he asked in a low tone.

            He turned around and walked a few steps before stopping.

            "Ronso," he called. "Let them pass!"

            All Ronso turned their heads to him, staring, bewildered. Hearing this, the SeeDs immediately lowered their weapons with approving smiles on their faces.

            "Summoner Yuna, your will is stronger than steel. Tempered steel that even the mightiest Ronso could not hope to bend."

            Lulu turned to Yuna, watching her with pride.

            "Yuna, we bow to your will! Now go!" Kelk urged, turning back to them.

            He raised his hands to the sky.

            "The sacred heights of Gagazet welcome you."

            Yuna bowed.

            "We thank you."

            The others settled down, relieved while Tidus was punching Wakka's stomach for some reason. Wakka punched the air over his head. Maybe they were simply releasing the anxiety.

            Many of the Ronso left, not showing any hostility towards the visitors anymore. On the other end of the large opening, Kelk Ronso was standing by a pillar by the path going up Gagazet. Everyone scattered around to calm down before they would start climbing.

            "Gaah, my neck's hurtin'," Wakka complained in the corner, rubbing his neck.

            "Zanarkand's on the other side, huh?" Tidus asked him, feeling a little nervous.

            Wakka turned to him, arms folded.

            "Yeah… your home, ya?"

            "As if you believed me," Tidus replied with a hand on a hip, waving his other hand.

            "Maybe I do. The one on the other side here's probably just a pile of rubble, ya? But somewhere out there is your Zanarkand. Somewhere, ya? Yeah, you'll be home soon enough!"

            "I… hope you're right," Tidus said scratching his head.

            "Yeah! Cheer up! Let's do this!"

            Even though Wakka was telling him to cheer up, Tidus was still nervous. He was not really sure if he wanted to see Zanarkand anymore, to see just a bunch of ruins where his home used to be. But even if Zanarkand was in ruins, it was still Yuna's destination, so that was where he would go.

            The SeeDs were also scattered all over the place. Kerry decided to stand with Rachel and Zell when she noticed Squall wanted to talk to his girlfriend again. Rachel smiled at her, understanding.

            "Are you cold, Kerry?" she inquired.

            "A little, but it's not as bad as Lake Macalania."

            "I heard ya," Zell said with a nod. "That place was freezing."

            "Well when we start moving we will warm up."

            Rinoa was talking with Quistis and Dave while Adam went to talk with Lulu a little. Seifer was leaning against a wall with his arms folded, Audrey resting against his shoulder. She was staring at him, noticing he was watching Squall and Carole.

            "Since when have you become so caring for Squall?" she asked with a teasing smile.

            Seifer immediately looked away.

            "What, I can't care?"

            "Sure, you can, but what caused it?"

            "Bah, I guess I'm getting soft."

            She noticed he avoided giving her a straight answer and decided to trust him. She was certain he had a good reason for not telling her. She rested her head against his arm, pressing herself closer. He unfolded his arms and opened his coat for her to get under it with him. She quickly did. Not too far, Selphie saw it and without asking, she crawled under Irvine's coat, surprising him.

            On the other side of the area, Carole rolled her sleeves back down.

            "How's your head?" Squall inquired.

            She turned to him but did not look at him.

            "I'm fine, when I woke up it was gone."

            Squall frowned. She suspected it and looked at him briefly. It has been a while since the last time she saw him frown.

            "Why are you lying to me?"

            "I don't want you to worry about me, that's all."

            He stood in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.

            "When you lie to me, I can tell. It makes me worry even more because then I wonder what you're trying to hide."

            She shook him off.

            "Well stop it, okay? It will go away, it always does. I did not sleep so good. I had a hard time falling asleep because of the headache and when I did it was late. I did not have enough sleep. It's still not as bad as it was, the cold air is helping."

            The young man kept quiet a moment, looking at her. He slowly closed his eyes, sighing.

            "All right. Just promise to tell me right away if it gets worse, okay? Don't wait until you collapse. We're about to climb a mountain, I don't want you falling off."

            She smiled to reassure him.

            "Of course."

            He bent over her and brushed her lips with his.

            "How are you?" Adam asked Lulu.

            "Yuna's… grown stronger."

            "Well a lot has happened. She really wants to help everyone."

            "That's why she's strong. She's still pressing forward. When weak people are driven they can't go far before they break. She keeps going because she is strong. And I… All I can do is try and keep up with her."

            "I think you're handling that pretty well," he assured with a smile.

            "Hmmm. Let's get ready for the climb."

            Tidus watched Auron standing away from everyone as usual and noticed he seemed thoughtful. He was looking around like he came to a conclusion.

            "It is as I thought," he said mostly for himself.

            "What is?" Tidus asked coming closer.

            "Yevon is in turmoil. Mika tries to keep it whole but it crumbles around him."

            "Look, I couldn't care less what happens to Yevon," Tidus stated.

            "Because you are not of this world. To those who truly believe in the teachings a time of much pain is coming."

            He looked up towards the summit, lost in thoughts and memories.

            "Ten years ago, I looked up at Gagazet from where we stand now."

            "My old man say anything?" Tidus inquired, curious.

            "I do not remember. All I could think of was… how I might keep Braska alive."

            Everyone had something on their mind. Veronique was standing close to Wakka, a little nervous to find herself alone with him. Even though the others were not far, they were still busy amongst themselves, not paying her any attention.

            "Everythin' okay?" Wakka inquired, startling her.

            "Y…yes, yes."

            "Look uh…" he started nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I'm glad you're still alive. Glad you're here now."

            She stared at him with eyes wide with surprise. She was not expecting it, but hearing those words meant a lot to her. It was hard to believe not so long ago she was only trying to find ways to amuse herself and perhaps even get revenge on the brother who drove her off.

            "Those guys are different too, ya? And they're not bad people. I wish I would've understood that sooner."

            "Wakka…"

            Her throat was squeezing, a feeling she did not experience in a long time. She could not find the words to actually tell him how happy she was that he thought so.

            When Zell grabbed Rachel and held her close to keep her warm, Kerry felt out of place and went towards Kimahri, looking around with a frown as if he was searching for something.

            "Is something wrong, Kimahri?" she asked with a slightly trembling voice due to the cold.

            "Biran and Yenke gone," he said scratching his head nervously.

            "I wonder what they're up to."

            "Biran is hero of Ronso. Yenke is powerful warrior."

            "Oh, but so are you, Kimahri!"

            "Kerry is stronger too."

            "You think so? I still wouldn't want to have to fight those two."

            "Kimahri must fight. Kimahri must win."

            "If you must fight, I know you will win!"

            The others started gathering together again. Some checked out the stock of a Ronso standing close to the path they arrived from. He was selling some items and the SeeDs gladly restocked.

            Nervous, Yuna was realizing Zanarkand was getting closer. She knew it was her destination when she left Besaid, but getting closer to it was another thing.

            As the group was set in motion, they walked past Kelk.

            "Summoner Yuna's words, they ring clear in my soul. Small voice, small frame, but a will that towers over Gagazet's peak. The path to the sacred heights is steep, and lined with the dens of fiends. Strong guardians, be prepared, and guard your summoner well. Guard your summoner with all your heart."

            "We will," everyone assured.

            They started climbing the path to come across another Ronso who wanted to give them a warning.

            "Quarrel between Biran and Kimahri started ten years ago," he explained. "Young Ronso fight each other to show strength. Biran beat Kimahri, but Kimahri never admit losing. Not once. Angry Biran broke Kimahri's horn. Kimahri could not bear shame and left sacred mountain. Kimahri talk less after horn broken."

            "Must have been hard," Kerry supposed looking up at Kimahri.

            "Kimahri has always been there for me," Yuna said with a smile to the Ronso. "I trust him with my life and I was never ashamed of him."

            Kimahri placed his protective gaze on Yuna, his face showing no emotion except maybe a little bit of pride being praised by her.

            "Everyone ready?" Yuna asked turning around to face the group.

            As each one of them either nodded or raised a thumb, she realized she was truly blessed to count so many people as friends. Even if she was to die at the end of her pilgrimage, she would have very little regrets.

            The group started moving up the trail at a good pace. They did not make it very far before a voice sounded, stopping them.

            "Halt!"

            Everybody stopped moving. Some felt hostility in this simple word and immediately reached for their weapons. Others simply stood on guard, ready. Biran and Yenke arrived from further ahead, blocking their way.

            "Haven't you bothered us enough?" Tidus asked, annoyed.

            "Summoner may pass. Guardians may pass," Biran stated. "Kimahri not pass! Kimahri shame Ronso brothers. Kimahri forget his birth."

            "Forget his people," Yenke added. "Forget his mountain. Little Ronso! Weakling Ronso!"

            "Mountain hate the weak, hate the small. If you will climb…"

            "Then I must prove my strength!" Kimahri finished.

            "Think you will win?" Biran asked in a mocking tone. "You not forget who took your horn! Never forget!"

            "Kimahri never beat brother Biran," Yenke added. "Never win!"

            "This time, I win," Kimahri assured, confident as he walked past Tidus who turned to him. "I will win!"

            "Why, you…!" Tidus exclaimed towards Biran, losing patience.

            Kimahri held his arm out to stop him.

            "This some kind of Ronso thing?" he asked.

            "Kimahri problem."

            Yenke got in fighting position and Biran gestured as an invitation. Kimahri took his spear out and jumped in front of the two bigger Ronso, ready to fight them.

            Kerry made her way to the front and placed her hands each side of her mouth.

            "You can do it Kimahri!" she cheered.

            More determined then ever, Kimahri stared right back at Biran and Yenke, never letting them out of his sight, barely blinking.

            "Biran rend you asunder!" the yellow beast swore.

            "Hornless! Hornless!" Yenke taunted.

            Kimahri did not lose his focus and slashed at Biran with his spear. Biran did not seem the least bit impressed.

            "Herh! This is the strength of Kimahri!" he laughed.

            He used Mighty Guard on himself, causing his defense to rise substantially. It gave Kimahri an idea. He used Lancet on Biran, learning Mighty Guard himself and putting him in a position to use his overdrive right away. He immediately used the new technique he had just learned. This was going to even the odds a little.

Kimahri decided to attack Yenke this time, but next to him, Biran had quick reflexes and jumped in front of his partner, taking the damage for him. Ready for the attack, he was in a defensive position and barely got hurt at all. Upset, Kimahri tried attacking Biran, but this time, Yenke jumped in front of him in defense position, barely getting any damage at all. Kimahri realized he had to separate them if he wanted to have a chance at defeating them. As long as they would be side by side, they would defend one another. He waited for an opportunity. It came when Biran rammed him and kept going to avoid a counterattack. Kimahri gritted his teeth from the damage, but he got what he wanted. He had Yenke in front of him and Biran behind him. That one was the biggest threat. He was going to take him out first.

            Using all his strength and knowledge of fiends' techniques, he managed to triumph over Biran. He went down on a knee, unable to continue fighting.

            "All right, Kimahri!" Kerry cheered again.

            "You will pay for this!" Yenke exclaimed, angry.

            He cast haste on himself, enabling him to attack more often. Kimahri attacked and was able to use his overdrive again. He used Fire Breath, burning parts of Yenke's fur. Angry, Yenke punched Kimahri hard across the face. Kimahri staggered but quickly got back to his senses and slashed at Yenke. He started getting weaker and it showed. Kimahri took advantage of that. He slashed again, and again, and again. Finally, Yenke went down as well.

            "You… win," he stated.

            Kimahri put his spear away and everyone behind him started cheering and clapping. In front of him, Biran was on a knee and Yenke had a hand to his chest.

            "Strong is Kimahri," Biran said. "Biran is happy."

            He got up and turned around, taking a few slow and heavy steps. He stopped and looked up.

            "Sacred Mount Gagazet!" he called, his voice echoing on the mountain walls. "I honor the name of strong warrior who defeats Biran. Remember always, Gagazet! That name is Kimahri!"

            "Mountain knows Kimahri strong," Yenke told. "Kimahri may pass."

            "Summoner!" Biran called, startling Yuna.

            Biran turned back to face the group.

            "We Ronso will stop pursuers from temple."

            "Truly?" Yuna asks hopefully.

            "All right!" Zell exclaimed.

            "This should buy us some time," Squall said.

            Kimahri standing next to Yuna folded his arms.

            "Penance for breaking Kimahri's horn, long ago," Biran explained.

            "We crush enemies following behind," Yenke promised with a fist on a hip. "Kimahri crush enemies standing before."

            "You are most fortunate summoner," Biran said.

            "I thank you," Yuna said bowing with her arms straight on each sides of her body.

            Biran started walking away.

            "Ronso will shine your statue brightest," Yenke swore.

            "Thank you," Yuna said nodding her head. "But I fear no one will make a statue for a traitor such as I am."

            "Then Ronso will make!" Biran assures, stopping in his tracks and turning his head.

            "With grand horn on head!" Yenke added.

            "That… would be wonderful," Yuna said with an amused smile.

            Dave frowned.

            "Strange image…" he trailed off.

            "I suppose but it must be an honor since the horn seems to be a symbol for them," Quistis explained.

            Biran and Yenke walked ahead. The path cleared, the others started walking as well. Tidus remained behind, thinking.

            _I want to see Yuna's statue, too. But I want to see it with Yuna by my side._

Determined, he followed.

            As the group started climbing the rocky path once more, Biran came back on an upper level on the side of the road, looking down on the group.

            "Summoner Yuna!" he called.

            Everybody froze and turned to the side, looking up at Biran.

            "What is it this time?" Tidus asked folding his arms in utter annoyance.

            Biran started singing the Hymn of the Fayth, followed by Yenke who suddenly showed up on the other side of the path. Then more Ronso showed up, singing along. Nobody said a word; they simply listened to this honor the Ronso were presenting them.


	27. Chapter 26: The wall of dreams

Chapter 26: The wall of dreams

**Chapter 26: The wall of dreams**

The path was narrow and sinuous, and the blowing wind was making it dangerous to walk more than one person at a time. Walking one behind the other made a very long line, but it was the safest way to avoid anybody falling off due to a sudden gust of wind. They were not walking too far from one another in case one would trip, someone would be there to catch them.

After a while of climbing, they came across a strange object stuck into the ground next to a pile of rock. Yuna stopped there a moment, kneeling down next to it. The platform was larger, allowing the others to gather around and see what was going on. The summoner remained there a moment, praying, then got up.

"These mark the graves of summoners and guardians who failed," Lulu explained to everyone seeing their interrogative eyes.

Respectful, the others nodded and kept quiet a moment as well. Once they were done, they started moving again.

Despite the lack of space, monsters felt brave (or stupid) enough to attack the group. There were a lot of tough and big monsters along the path. Even machina. The big ones were proving to be pretty annoying, but the main problem was not their strength, it was the lack of space. Not everyone could participate in all the fights. The SeeDs were kindly taking it upon themselves to take care of those. Of course, Tidus was still trying his best to show off and Auron's Armor Break ability proved pretty useful against some hard shelled monsters.

The monsters just kept coming. It was a wonder where they were all coming from.

"This sure keeps us busy!" Wakka exclaimed during another fight.

"Better than freeze to death," Auron answered him as he slashed another monster.

"I agree," Dave said.

Once the monsters were dealt with once again, the group resumed their advance. Rikku noticed something in a small nook of mountain further up.

"What's that?"

Tidus recognized a sphere abandoned there. He hurried to it and turned it on. An image of Yuna's father appeared. He quickly handed it to her.

"You should probably watch this."

With mixed up emotions seeing an image of her father after so long, she watched and listened to him telling her to follow her own path, that whatever she would choose, she had his full support. She put the sphere away and with even more determination, she nodded at everyone and kept going. That's what she wanted to do, that was the path she chose. To save Spira.

After yet more battles, they came across another monument by a tall rock wall. Yuna kneeled down in front of this one as well.

"Summoners that die up here aren't sent to the Farplane," Lulu told the others.

"Why not?" Tidus inquired for everyone.

"Who would send them? They die alone."

"So that means…"

"Many have become fiends, and they may want Yuna's company."

"Well, Yuna will be fine," Tidus assured.

Lulu looked around and saw everyone nodding at her and smiling. She closed her eyes and smiled as well.

"You're right."

Further along the path, there was a guy standing on the side wearing a blue sweater and green pants. His face lightened up when he saw the group coming his way.

"Greetings, Lady Yuna. My name is Wantz."

"We have met several times before, right?" Yuna wondered.

"Not running today?" Tidus asked jokingly.

"I have to carry on my brother's business. You've met him, I think. O'aka XXIII merchant extraordinaire?"

"Wait, you're that guy's brother?" Tidus asked in surprise.

Wantz nodded.

"My brother wanted to help Lady Yuna. But the temple imprisoned him for helping traitors."

"They imprisoned him because of us?" Tidus asked, feeling bad.

"He doesn't regret it, though," Wantz assured. "In fact, he told me before they took him: "Don't worry about me, just go help Lady Yuna.""

"But, why would your brother do this for us?" Yuna inquired.

"Well… Hey, this isn't the time for talking! There's dealing to be done! Welcome to O'aka's!"

Shrugging off the fact that he changed the subject, everyone took turns to check his goods and see if they could get anything useful. He was holding a nice selection of weapons and items. The group restocked on some items and prepared to take their leave of the seller.

"I will be sure to keep your brother in my prayers," Yuna assured.

"He's doing the same for you, Lady Yuna," Wantz told, praying.

"Thanks."

She turned to the others and nodded, signalling they were good to go.

The road was long and tiring, but everyone hung on. Further up the path they came upon another monument against the mountain wall. Yuna kneeled down in front of that one as well, Tidus standing by her side. Lulu felt sorry.

"All this way, only to fail," she stated. "It must have been tough."

Yuna got up and turned to the others. Some were smiling comfortingly and others lifted a thumb encouragingly.

"Yuna is not going to fail," Carole promised. "We'll make sure of that."

The summoner smiled at the group behind her who nodded approvingly to Carole's words.

The group was set in motion once more. Moving kept the cold in check for the time being. After climbing for quite a while, the path opened on a larger area. As they walked through it, Rikku slowed down to allow Tidus to catch up to her.

"Zanarkand is on the other side, you know?" she reminded him with concern showing in her voice.

He turned to her, his head down. He was just as worried as she was.

"I know," he replied in a grave tone.

"Yunie is gonna get the Final Aeon, you know?"

"I know."

"I still haven't thought of anything," she admitted lowering her head as well.

"Me neither."

"What are we gonna do?"

He raised his head, optimistic.

"We'll do something! We just don't know enough yet. Until we do, we really can't help Yuna. Let's go to Zanarkand," he decided pumping his fist before folding his arms. "We'll find something there. It'll all come together, I know it!"

"Hey… Just now, you sounded like a leader, you know?" Rikku said with a playful smile.

"Star of the Zanarkand Abes!" Tidus exclaimed with both hands on his hips and a large proud smile on his face. "Didn't anyone tell you?"

"Aha!" Rikku let out, bowing low in fake respect.

Tidus walked past her. When she rose, her face changed. She looked afraid.

"Ah!"

Alerted, Tidus turned back around to see what caused her to react like this. They found themselves face to face with Seymour. He was simply standing there by the edge of the cliff. His eyes showed madness, but he had an amused and pleased smile on his face.

"Ah, the son of Jecht."

"Rikku, run ahead and tell Auron!" Tidus commanded her, standing on guard.

"You are not fighting him alone!" she objected.

"Just go! Go!"

She finally obeyed and ran ahead to get the others. Seymour laughed, apparently quite amused with something.

"Now is your turn to die," he stated as if that was obvious. "Prepare yourself, son of Jecht."

"Not if I can help it!" Tidus psyched himself up.

"Save some for Kimahri!" a strong voice suddenly cut in.

Rikku came back running with everyone following her. Kimahri was holding his spear in two hands and the SeeDs all had their respective weapons in theirs. Everyone gathered around Tidus.

"Lady Yuna," Seymour greeted not the least bit intimidated despite the odds. "It is a pleasure."

"Yuna!" Lulu called.

Knowing what she had to do, Yuna started praying but Seymour quickly interrupted her.

"A sending, so soon? Allow me to say something to the last Ronso before I leave."

He laughed, realizing he got everyone's attention with that. Some even started to look horrified.

"Yours was… truly a gallant race. They threw themselves at me to bar my path. One… after another…" he told, raising one hand then the other.

"No…" Kerry trailed off.

"Oh my god…" Rachel whispered.

Seymour kept his hand in the air for a few seconds then he closed it in a fist and pumped it down, laughing.

"No…" Kimahri trailed off as well, realizing the truth.

"Kimahri…" Yuna started, unable to add anything to try and comfort him.

"You could end the suffering of this poor Ronso," Seymour added with the same mad smile.

"I don't understand you!" Yuna exclaimed, frowning.

Seymour turned around and walked right to the edge of the cliff. Everyone was keeping their eyes on him, frowning, ready for anything.

"Allow Kimahri to die, and release him from his pain. Spira is a land of suffering and sorrow caught in a spiral of death," he exposed, a hand outstretched to the world below. "To destroy --to heal-- Spira, I will become Sin."

He turned back around.

"Yes, with your help."

Yuna stared at him, frowning. Seymour made a few steps forward.

"Come with me, Yuna."

She did not move, but Tidus did, placing himself between Seymour and Yuna. He had his sword in hands and was frowning angrily at Seymour.

"Once I have become the next Sin, your father will be freed again," Seymour explained.

"You're insane!" Zell stated, brandishing his fists.

At first, Tidus looked unsure. He lowered his sword and his head. Then he frowned and withdrew his head.

"Argh! What do you know?"

He ran towards Seymour who started glowing and something large came from behind him, rising from the edge of the cliff. Seymour started levitating.

"Pitiful mortal."

Another blinding light spread across the area.

"What is that?"

"What's happening?"

"Your road ends here!" Seymour stated.

His voice changed, it sounded as if he was talking into a tin can.

When the light vanished, Seymour was fused into the large object that had appeared.

"And your meaningless existence with it!"

He was floating off the edge, hovering. Two arms as big as Tidus were dangling down the front of the monster and some parts that looked like wings or fins were flapping on the back and under him. Some kind of lance was floating in front of him, moving on its own, remotely controlled. He also had two giant swords in his hands.

"Holy shit!" Carole exclaimed.

"He looks even worst than last time," Squall said.

"And I bet he's stronger too," Seifer added with a frown.

"It doesn't matter what he looks like!" Tidus interrupted. "We'll beat him again!"

Everyone got in fighting position, holding their weapons in front of them. The mages stood behind the others and the range fighters stood on the side once again. Seymour contemplated the gathering, amused.

"Do you not want to end Spira's sorrow?" he asked.

"You cannot run from your fate!" Yuna warned him.

Kimahri was enraged.

"You have angered Kimahri! This spirits of Ronso will guide Kimahri's spear!"

He would avenge the death of the Ronso. Brandishing his spear, Kimahri dashed Seymour and slashed with all his strength. It did not seem to waver the monster one bit. In fact, it seemed to amuse him.

Before anyone else would attempt something, the hovering lance started moving around, causing everyone to stand on guard. The lance stopped, pointing towards the ground. Suddenly, it was hurled towards the ground and stuck itself right in front of Rachel's feet, liberating a strange ominous gas that made the girl moan in pain. The lance went back where it came from and everyone stared at Rachel, unsure if they should run to her assistance or wait. When the gas had disappeared, she had changed. Her skin was a sickening green color and when she turned her face to the others, they all had a move backwards seeing the white balls that had replaced her eyes.

"Rachel!" Zell exclaimed hurrying to her.

"Don't touch her!" Quistis commanded, stopping Zell dead in his tracks. "She has been zombified."

The move Seymour had used was called Lance of Atrophy. He put his hands together and started casting a spell. Quistis went through her pockets and found a small vial of a pure liquid. She tossed it.

"Rachel!"

The girl was still aware of her surroundings despite her new condition so she watched the bottle come at her and she guessed what it was, she had learned that in Garden. She let the vial come and break at her feet, splashing her with the holy water it contained. Just in time to receive the spell Seymour was preparing. A full-life spell. This one would usually completely restore someone's health when in a critical state. But as a zombie, this would have killed her. Instead of killing her, the spell actually revitalized her.

"Thanks, Quistis!" Rachel said with relief, back to normal.

"Don't mention it," the blond replied with a smile.

Finally able to approach her, Zell went to the girl's side and put a worried hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Rachel nodded with a comforting smile.

"It was a close call, but I'm fine."

Zell clenched her shoulder a little. He was really scared.

"Stay close to me," he asked.

She never saw him like that and it made her eyes shine. She nodded.

"Okay, so watch out for that move," Squall concluded. "If it happens again, I want everyone who has any Holy Water to reach for it right away to cure whoever gets turned before he has a chance to kill them."

"We'll be careful," Tidus nodded approvingly.

He attacked Seymour as well, slashing Brotherhood across him, followed with Auron, Seifer, Carole and Squall. The gunblade users did not forget to pull the trigger to cause extra annoying damage to the monster. Seymour seemed annoyed.

Standing in the back, Yuna had the idea to summon an Aeon to put in the front line. They were immune to any status ailments, so Lance of Atrophy would not affect them. She ran forward.

"Everyone stand back!" she called as she swung her staff around.

Understanding what she wanted to do, everyone moved behind her while she finished summoning Bahamut. The large dragon came through the clouds and broke his fall by flapping his wings and landed in front of Yuna. The others were still amazed by it.

Behind her Aeon, Yuna gave him commands to attack Seymour but before he would even start, Seymour raised a hand.

"Death awaits you," he said.

A blinding light surrounded the aeon and it disappeared without a trace. That was Seymour's defence against Aeons: Banish. Shocked, Yuna did not move. When they saw this, everyone hurried back to the front.

"It's okay, Yuna," Tidus comforted her. "Thanks for trying, we'll handle him!"

She looked at him a sorry way, but she understood. She nodded and went back to Lulu and the other range fighters.

Those with blades dashed the monster with war cries and slashed with all their strength, even Kerry. She could not forgive what he did to the Ronso. She did not like him before, but even though she was usually a little unsure about fighting, especially against another human being, she told herself Seymour was no longer human. He was unsent and more of a monster than an actual monster. Fiends kill because they are the embodiments of people's pain and rage. Seymour was killing because he was mad.

When an opportunity came, Seymour suddenly released a countless numbers of deadly energy beams that spread across the whole area, blowing up the ground around everyone. Faithful to herself, Carole shielded Kerry with her body and once again, Squall stood in front of the both of them to do the same. Every guy in the area attempted to take the blows for their respective girl. The resulted damage was not too severe. The healers quickly and easily took care of that.

Seymour started casting a reflect spell on himself, causing the SeeDs to wonder the reason. When the body part of the monster suddenly cast Flare on Seymour, thus reflecting it towards the group, it became quite clear. When reflected on a shield, a spell gets lost to a random target. That target happened to be Carole this time. With Kerry still close, when she saw the fire coming at her, she pushed the girl away so she would not get burned and braced herself.

"C-chan!" Kerry exclaimed hurrying back to her.

"No, stay away!" the elder one objected.

But Kerry did not listen and wrapped her arms around Carole when the Flare spell struck, burning the both of them and wrapping them in a fog of smoke.

"Carole! Kerry!" Squall called in fear hurrying to them with an arm over his face to protect him from the smoke.

Once the smoke had cleared out, the two girls looked a little dirty, but surprisingly not too badly wounded. Carole had a few dark marks on her face and her clothes were a little dusty and so was Kerry. Carole looked at her in surprise and Kerry smiled at her.

"I switched some fire magic into my elemental defense," she exclaimed proudly. "I should thank you for lending me some."

"You figured how to do that on your own?" Carole asked, amazed

"Yup! Took me a couple tries though…"

Suddenly, a red aura engulfed Kerry, surprising the two girls and Squall in the process.

"What's that? I feel… a strong energy building up."

"That's a limit break, Kerry!" Carole exclaimed with a wide smile. "Just let it come and do what you must!"

Nodding and unafraid, Kerry shut her eyes and let the power take her, telling her what to do. She took a whistle from a pocket on her uniform and she blew into it. It released a high sound that was familiar to the others. Curious, but not forgetting the situation, Squall placed himself in front of the girls in defensive stance to give Kerry the time she needed.

After a few seconds, something that sounded like "kweh!" resonated in the mountains.

"What? A chocobo here?"

The large yellow bird arrived running from the same path the group used to get there. It was running faster than a chocobo normally could. It stopped right in front of Kerry. She petted it and took something else out of her pockets that she gave to the chocobo. It looked like some kind of red pepper. The yellow feathers of the chocobo suddenly turned red and breathed fire. Everyone had a jump backwards.

"WHOA!"

Burning because of the pepper, the chocobo dashed towards Seymour, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. It jumped over the monster and started stepping on it at great speed with force "kweh kweh kweh kweh!" leaving claw marks all over the body.

"That's for the Ronso!" Kerry exclaimed. "Feel the Choco-Rage!"

After a while, it jumped down from the monster and left dashing back down the path with a long "kweeeeeeeh!" Everyone was staring that way, tracing the chocobo. Carole was the first one to shake the surprise off and turn back to Kerry.

"That was so cool!"

"I thought that since I have a gift with them, I could ask one for help."

"What the hell did you feed it?" Zell asked.

"It was a death pepper. It's a rare chocobo treat, they like it even though it makes them a little berserk," she explained with a playful smile.

Carole placed an approving hand on Kerry's shoulder.

"Nice job, K-chan!"

Seymour was starting to shake the surprise of the chocobo attack off. The body started casting another Flare spell.

"Oh no, not this time!" Seifer exclaimed unleashing a spell of his own.

He dispelled the reflect on Seymour so when the body unleashed Flare, Seymour received it instead of it bouncing off on the others. The SeeDs widened their eyes in bewilderment.

"Oh my god!" Tidus exclaimed. "That was brilliant!"

Squall also turned an amazed look towards Seifer.

"Yeah Seifer. Well done!"

Seifer was getting embarrassed.

"Ah come on, just because I kept failing my field exams doesn't mean I'm completely clueless."

"Oh, it doesn't?" Audrey teased him.

Auron shook his head disapprovingly, sighing in the process.

"Can this wait until after we have taken care of him?" he asked pointing his sword at Seymour.

Coughing to clear their throats, the SeeDs went back in fighting position.

"Grumpy's right," Rachel stated. "Let's finish this first, we can make fun of Seifer afterwards."

"Drop it," Seifer warned getting ready nonetheless.

Seymour was growing furious, but also tiring up. So many people driven by passion, some rage, others revenge attacking from all sides was getting the better of him. He used the beam attack again called Total Annihilation, causing minor damage to everyone again. Feeling as motivated as they ever were, the SeeDs brandished their weapons.

"Let's give him everything we've got!" Squall said.

Holding his blade aside, he dashed. Seifer and Carole followed close behind along with Tidus, Auron, Kimahri and Dave. Once those had cleared the way, Rachel, Audrey and Kerry took a turn at it. Then Wakka, Adam, Irvine and Rinoa all shot at Seymour. Veronique, Quistis, Selphie, Rikku and Zell did their part, then Lulu threw in a spell. Unable to sustain such heavy damage, Seymour started shaking over the ground and the body started exploding. It started losing altitude and disappeared in pyreflies. Once nothing was left of him, everyone took a breather. Tidus was on a knee, his sword stuck into the ground to hold his weight. He was panting, trying to catch his breath

"And stay up there!" he warned.

This ordeal finally taken care of, everyone put their weapons away and checked for possible overseen injuries. Everybody was fine.

"We are not there yet," Auron told. "Let's go."

The fight made a good workout and helped warming them up. But now that it was over, the cold was coming back in so the group started moving to stay warm. They left the edge of the cliff and started following the path again. While everyone was moving, Yuna remained behind with her head down, thoughtful.

"He will become Sin…" she trailed off. "With my help."

Hearing her, the others turned around to her.

"Lies," Auron stated. "Forget them."

"If he becomes Sin, Sir Jecht will be saved."

Carole turned her head to Tidus to see what he would say to that, but Auron did not let anyone any time to say anything.

"We're leaving," Auron urged.

"You know something!" Yuna insisted in an accusing tone. "Tell me!"

Auron kept quiet so Yuna hurried in front of Tidus instead.

"Tell me!" she pleaded.

The blond lowered his head and his shoulders dropped. He was really hoping he would not have to tell this to more people. He breathed out.

"Sin's… my old man."

"You hit your head?" Wakka asked.

"Sin is my old man," Tidus repeated louder, keeping his head down. "My old man became Sin! I don't know how or why he did it."

Except for Auron, Squall and Carole, everyone stood in shock. Tidus looked up to the sky.

"I felt him, inside. And when I did, I knew it was true," he explained brining his head back down to look ahead of him. "My old man is Spira's suffering."

He lowered his head once more and closed his eyes not to see the look on Yuna's face.

"Sorry," he added.

Yuna's shoulders dropped and she took on a devastated look.

"Even… knowing that Sin is your father… Still, you know, I must…" she reminded him, shaking her head.

She looked very sorry.

"I know," Tidus assured, understanding. "Let's get him. I think my old man would want that."

Lulu stepped forward, bewildered.

"You'd fight your own father?"

"Yeah. No problem there."

"Uh… 'Bout your old man…" Wakka started, scratching the back of his head, uneasy. "You sure this ain't some kinda toxin dream or something?"

Carole shivered, remembering her own toxin dream in Bikanel desert. But she knew that was no dream, she remembered Tidus telling her and Squall about it on the way to Macalania Temple.

The blond sighed. Wakka's shoulders dropped and he looked at the ground.

"Then, Chappu… I, uh… I think I'll just pretend I didn't hear nothing," he decided, turning his back on Tidus. "I'm getting a little confused, ya? Why… Why'd all this have to happen?"

Feeling Wakka's dilemma herself, Veronique got closer, thinking of trying to comfort her but she had no idea what to tell him.

"We'll learn when we arrive," Auron told. "Soon."

Auron turned around to leave and most followed him. Wakka still looked unsettled and Veronique placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her.

"You saw it, ya? When Chappu died?"

She nodded.

"He did not have time to suffer, if that's what you're wondering."

Wakka nodded slowly, his eyes closed.

"Ah, let's just keep goin'. Chappu would want that."

"Yeah," Veronique approved with a smile.

Everyone finally moved forward, following the path and when they turned the corner, something extraordinary spread in front of them.

"Wow!" Yuna let out when she saw what was ahead of them.

To the right of the path was a huge stone wall covered with people's backs, as if their front was trapped inside the rock. There appeared to be a strange mist covering them, perhaps produced by the wall itself. On the front of the line, Tidus stared at the wall a few seconds, speechless pretty much like everyone else. Then he turned around to look at something else. Across from the rock path was a kind of spring with an upside down twister sticking out of it and pointing towards the sky. It was not moving, only twisting on itself endlessly. The tip was too high to be seen. A little further, a three steps waterfall seemed to be fuelling the spring.

"Wh – What are those?" Wakka asked.

Almost everyone was staring, unable to look away. Next to Squall, Carole started trembling slightly. Concerned, he turned to her.

"What's wrong?"

"I really don't like this at all…"

"Those are fayth," Yuna realized, interrupting them.

"Are they… dead?" Kerry inquired, scared.

Yuna got closer to the wall to examine it.

"A summoning!" she figured out. "Someone is using these fayth! Someone is drawing energy from all of them!"

"This many?" Rikku asked in shock, turning to Yuna.

"Is that even possible?" Irvine asked.

"Who wields power on this scale, and what could they be calling?" Yuna wondered.

Others were wondering the exact same thing while Rikku rushed towards Auron who was standing behind.

"Hey, you know something, don't ya? Spill the beans!"

"Look not to other for knowledge," he replied walking between them. "This is your journey, too."

"You're such a big help," Zell stated.

"Yunie might die, you know?" Rikku reminded him with concern.

Tidus turned around to her.

"No… Auron's right."

Rikku looked back at him, shocked. Without adding anything, he walked towards the wall and stood right in front of it, looking at it.

"This is our…" he started before pausing for a few seconds. "This is my story."

He placed a hand on the wall and some of the mist seemed to rub off on him.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, stiffening up.

"What's wrong?" Selphie asked.

"Tidus!" Carole exclaimed, hurrying to him as he collapsed.

She dropped to her knees next to him and placed a hand on his arm and everything turned white.

When Tidus came around, he found himself lying on his front on a pier. He was surrounded with pyreflies and the air was filled with faint moaning sounds. He got up and took a quick look around, unable to believe his eyes.

"Eh?"

Looking a little more thoroughly, he noticed someone lying on their front a little bit away from him. He recognized the black leather outfit and the long hair.

"Carole!"

He hurried to her and was relieved when she got up before he got to her. Holding her head, she spotted Tidus coming to her.

"Tidus?"

She took a look around.

"Where… are we?"

It was night time but there were bright lights everywhere. There was no mistaking it.

"Zanarkand. My home…"

He was feeling a little dizzy, but he went forward.

"Zanarkand? Wait, Tidus!"

She hurried after him. Knowing his way, Tidus stepped on a floating house off the pier. It looked like a large boat. He walked through the door into a circular room with a low round table in the middle, a counter across the room and some seats around the table. There were large windows on each sides of the room.

Tidus walked to the middle of the room, Carole close behind, and he looked around. In the corner of the room by the entrance, a kid with a purple hood was sitting on the floor, legs folded and his knees up to his face. Pyreflies were floating around him.

"Welcome home," he said.

Tidus walked to him. He was under the impression that he knew him.

"You…"

"Remember me?" the kid asked. "We met in Bevelle."

"Uh, yeah?"

"But that wasn't the first time we met. I've known about you for a long time. A long, long time."

"I… I feel like I know you, too," Tidus admitted, uneasy. "Where are we?"

The kid chuckled.

"Silly, don't recognize your own home?"

"This is your home?" Carole asked.

Before Tidus could answer any of them, the kid vanished. Tidus reached a hand out to where he was, but it only hung there. He was gone. Suddenly, a see-through image of Wakka surrounded with pyreflies appeared next to him, startling both Carole and him.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked in fear. "Hey!"

Wakka vanished then a see-through Rikku also surrounded with pyreflies showed up behind them, causing them to turn around.

"Wake up!" she called in a panicked tone. "Wake up!"

She vanished as well only to be replaced by see-through versions of Squall and Kerry.

"Carole, answer me!"

"C-chan!"

Both vanished without a trace as well. Tidus folded his arms thoughtful.

"What's going on?" Carole asked, getting scared.

"Wait…" Tidus said turning to the middle of the room. "This is a dream."

The kid came back running. He looked surreal.

"Precisely," he confirmed.

"A dream? Are you crazy? I don't have time to be dreaming now!"

"You're wrong. It's not that you're dreaming. You are a dream."

"Huh? Wait a sec."

The kid ran outside and Tidus followed him.

"What does he mean you're a dream? Tidus!"

Confused, Carole followed him. She caught him up on the upper deck. The kid was standing in the middle of it. When Tidus got near him, the kid disappeared and reappeared a few steps ahead by the ledge. He was looking towards Zanarkand.

"Long ago, there was a war."

"Yeah, with machina, right?" Tidus asked, folding his arms.

"Yes. A war between Zanarkand and Bevelle. Bevelle's machina assured their victory from the start. Spira had never seen such power. The summoners of Zanarkand didn't stand a chance. Zanarkand was doomed to oblivion. That's why we tried to save it – if only in a memory."

"Wait," Carole interrupted. "Bevelle had the machina? And they dare to say they are forbidden? I guess they want to make sure not to repeat the same mistake…"

She might as well have been talking to herself, because neither the kid nor Tidus paid her any attention.

"What did you do?" Tidus inquired.

The boy turned to Tidus who sat down on the floor in front of him to be more at his level. Carole crouched down by his side, willing to hear the answer as well.

"The remaining summoners and the townspeople that survived the war… They all became fayth – fayth for the summoning."

Tidus looked at him.

"The summoning… You mean Sin?"

"No. I mean this place. A Zanarkand that never sleeps."

"What?" Tidus asked in shock.

Carole felt her heartbeat fasten. She was feeling uneasy for some reason and she was starting to get scared.

"The dreams of the fayth summoned the memories of the city. They summoned all the buildings, all the people who lived there."

"The people… What, they're all dreams?"

He jumped to his feet and pointed at his face, realizing the truth.

"Me, too?"

The boy nodded and ran to the other side of the deck. Carole widened her eyes in horror as she stared at Tidus.

"What…?" she said in a low tone, her throat suddenly dry.

Tidus followed the kid, but Carole's feet refused to do the same. A dream?

"Yes, you're a dream of the fayth. You, your father, your mother, everyone. All dreams. And if the fayth stops dreaming…"

He did not finish his sentence. A light flashed and the buildings in the distance vanished. Another flash of light and a colourful pillar close to the house was gone as well. A third flash and the pier disappeared. The ship had become shapeless, a twisted mix of purples. Tidus ran down the stairs, and looked at the emptiness spreading in front of him. Carole traced him, unable to say a thing.

"No!" Tidus exclaimed.

He spin around.

"So what if I'm a dream!"

He turned around and looked at the kid up the stairs.

"I… I like being here."

"We've been dreaming for so long… we're tired," the kid said in an exhausted tone.

He vanished and Tidus climbed the stairs in a few steps. The kid reappeared downstairs in the middle of the boat.

"Would you and your father… Would you let us rest? Both you and your father have been touched by Sin. Sin, the one around whom all Spira – the spiral – revolves."

He vanished again.

"What are you saying?" Tidus asked, confused.

He ran back downstairs traced by Carole unable to take her eyes off him and he looked all around himself. He walked further ahead and the kid reappeared on what was left of the pier.

"You two are more than just dreams, now."

An image of Yuna surrounded with pyreflies appeared behind him.

"Wake up!" she begged. "Wake up, please!"

Tidus turned around only to see her vanish.

"Just a little more, and maybe… Maybe you are the dream that will end our dreaming at last."

Tidus lowered his head, shaking it. Without warning, a bright light engulfed the whole place along with the two people standing there. When it cleared up, Tidus opened his eyes to see Yuna's worried face over his. He was on the ground, Yuna on her knees next to him, Carole on the other side with a hand on his arm. She was surrounded by Squall and Kerry, worried sick.

Blinking a few times, Carole looked around and removed her hand from Tidus, allowing him to jump on his feet, startling Wakka standing behind him. Rikku crouched down.

"Are you alright?" Yuna inquired with concern as she got up.

Tidus looked around a little while Wakka was settling down.

"Oh, whew!" Yuna breathed out in relief, a hand on her chest.

Tidus sat down and Rikku did the same.

"Hey, we were so worried about you!"

"You okay?" Lulu asked, stepping forward.

"I… I'm okay," Tidus assured.

"What happened?" Yuna inquired getting on her knees before moving her legs around to sit down.

"Nothing…" he lied. "I blacked out. I was dreaming. You called me… and I woke up."

Putting a hand on his knee, he pushed himself up and stretched up a bit. Yuna and Rikku got up as well.

"Nothing like a good nap!" he said, pumping his fist. "Well, I'm ready. Let's go!"

He turned towards the road ahead and started walking past the wall and the spring. While some were making sure Tidus was fine, Carole had managed to sneak away, but not without being noticed by Squall and Kerry.

"What happened?" Squall asked her when she got up and walked away.

"C-chan!" Kerry called, her voice filled with concern.

Carole was showing them her back. Her temples were pulsing and her throat was still dry.

"What do you mean, what happened? Why are you asking me this? You should ask Tidus."

Squall hurried to her and grabbed her arm to spin her around so he would be able to see her face. He froze when he saw her it. She was very pale and she looked in shock.

"I want to know what happened to you! When you touched him you became stiff as wood and your eyes went blank! We kept calling but you did not move a muscle!"

"Oh, uh… I dunno about that. When I saw Tidus collapse I got scared and maybe some of that mist rubbed off on me when I touched him."

"He went unconscious, you did not."

"I'm fine, see?'

Frowning, Squall was not about to let this one go. There was a risk he would wake some events up in her, but he had to ask.

"Did you have a vision?"

The young woman turned stiff, unable to move anymore.

"Why would I have a vision?"

"Why else would you have looked like that? You looked like you were seeing something nobody else could see."

Carole broke away from Squall. He let her go, but the sudden gesture startled Kerry. Trying to smile comfortingly, Carole looked at her.

"Look K-chan, I'm alright, really. Go with the others, we'll catch up with you."

"But…"

She did not want to leave without knowing her mentor really was fine. She looked at Squall for help and he nodded, trying to let her know he would take care of this.

"Alright…" Kerry said reluctantly.

She slowly walked away, trying to keep the couple in her sight as long as she could. But eventually, she could not see them anymore when the path made a curve along the wall.

Squall turned back to Carole, a fist on his hip and he frowned angrily at her. She was still avoiding his gaze.

"Why are you lying to me?"

"Because I'm scared!" she exclaimed suddenly turning to him.

Her face was covered in tears. Moved, Squall immediately lost his angry frown and got worried.

"Scared of what? What happened?"

She started crying loudly and Squall quickly wrapped his arms around her, feeling his heart squeeze and his throat get dry with concern.

"Talk to me, please," he begged her.

She shook her head strongly.

"I can't! This is just too much! It's not fair!"

The SeeD leader desperately wanted to ask her what was unfair, but he knew in his heart she would not answer that.

"I wish I didn't know! I wish I could forget that! Hyne, let me forget this, please!"

Squall did the only thing he could actually do. He held her tightly against him, trying as much as he could to send her all the love he had for her, and hoping his presence would suffice to settle her confused state. He kept his eyes shut, recalling what happened in Macalania Woods. He was feeling the very same way and he was also wishing that just like then, she would forget what was causing her so much pain.


	28. Chapter 27: Revelation

Chapter 27: Revelation

**Chapter 27: Revelation**

Noticing their leading couple was not following them, the SeeDs stopped and turned around to see Kerry coming to them. She looked concerned but still tried to tell everyone that Squall and Carole simply needed a little moment of privacy and that they would arrive shortly. Rachel was sceptical and she was not the only one. Almost all of them noticed what happened when Carole touched Tidus. But they also trusted Squall completely and figured he would take care of things.

As Kerry had said, the two showed up around the corner of the very long fayth covered wall. Seifer frowned when he saw them while Rachel went to meet them.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked her sister.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy. It's wearing off, I think it was that mist."

"Are you sure?" Rachel insisted.

"Of course," Carole replied with a smile and walked ahead through the group.

Squall followed her without a word, but when he walked by Seifer, the latter discreetly grabbed his arm.

"Again?" he asked in a barely audible whisper to make sure only Squall would hear it.

Squall shook his head slowly, confused.

"I dunno… This time she won't even tell me what happened because she says it's just too much."

The blond arched an eyebrow.

"What could be so bad that she wouldn't even want to tell you?"

"I wish I knew…"

Squall sighed, making Seifer wonder who it was tougher on, Squall or Carole?

On the front of the line, Yuna turned around, placing her hands together on her thighs.

"Is everything alright?" she inquired.

"Of course, Yuna. Sorry to slow you down like that," Carole assured with a smile.

The summoner smiled back and nodded and everyone believed the other girl's smile except for Squall. And Veronique as well. Not that she intended to, but she knew what Tidus and Carole saw. When she saw everyone getting worried about them, she took a peek inside their heads and noticed they were both experiencing the same thing. So she knew what was upsetting Carole.

The wall of the fayth was very long. It became free of bodies when the wall opened into a tunnel going deep inside the mountain. It was not very large, but it looked quite long. The group entered the cave. The wind was whistling, echoing between the inner walls. There were thin stalagmites sticking out of the ground that grew taller than any of them. In some places, there were holes in the ground. Further in, the road split in two.

"Should we split up?" Yuna wondered.

"Bad idea, we have no idea what could be lurking around down here," Squall objected. "I think it's better to stick together and explore the whole thing."

"I agree," Tidus said. "It's not like in the desert where we split up in case you would find some of your friends down the other path, now we're all together and let's stay that way."

Yuna nodded and examined the two paths.

"So which way then?"

A hand on his hip, thinking, Tidus decided.

"Let's try the left."

The group was set in motion and followed the tunnel until it opened into a large room filled with water. It was filling the whole place, making it impossible to walk around it. Some lights glowing in the bottom of the water made it possible to see an underwater tunnel further ahead.

"Looks like we got a job to do, ya?" Wakka pointed out.

He stepped forward along with Tidus and Rikku.

"Wait up," Dave called as he cut through the bunch of people to get to the front. "I'm going too."

Tidus pumped his fist at him with a smile while Wakka nodded approvingly and Rikku cheered. The four stepped in front of the water.

"If anything should happen in the water, we're relying on you four," Lulu said.

The four of them turned to her.

"If it gets dangerous, pull out quick," she advised.

"Right!" Wakka psyched up.

"Be careful, okay?" Yuna asked.

Quistis walked through to get to Dave. He smiled at her.

"Don't worry, okay? I want to help, that's all."

"I know," she said with a nod. "Just don't try to be a hero, okay?"

"Not really my style, anyway."

The group stepped into the water and started swimming away. They passed through a hole shaped like an archway that led them into another room also filled with water. They had to fight their way through against very aggressive fishes. They always attacked in groups, leaving little time to rest.

The room was once again splitting in two. The right path was getting out of the water, but into a dead end. Fighting more fish monsters, they made their way to the other path. This one was also coming out of the water on a set of stairs, as if there used to be something in this cave. At the end of that tunnel, there was a ball of white light suspended in mid-air with a kind of shield rotating around it. There were two small openings in the shield. It was unreachable by foot, floating away from the edge.

"What is that?" Dave inquired.

"The First Trial of Gagazet," Wakka explained. "Heard 'bout that."

"So we need to pass the trial to move further?" Tidus asked. "This is kinda like the temples."

"Ya."

"Which would tend to confirm there might have been something like a temple in here in the past," Dave concluded. "Would explain the stairs in the bowels of a mountain."

"Hey, you're right!" Rikku exclaimed.

Wakka took out his ball and examined the openings in the shield. It was large enough for the ball to pass through with a well aimed shot. He had to hit the light protected in the middle. It would not be easy. The rotating shield was not the only obstacle. On the other side of the shield there were rocks floating around the ball of light, orbiting around it. The timing had to be perfect. Wakka started focusing, waiting for a chance. He threw the ball and it bounced off the shield.

"Ah, you missed!" Rikku pointed out.

He tried again and this time, the ball bounced off one of the rocks on the other side of the shield.

"Dammit," Tidus said, disappointed.

"Will you two shut up and let him focus?" Dave warned.

Both Tidus and Rikku bit their lips and took a step backwards to leave Wakka some room. Satisfied, Dave nodded.

"It's all yours, Wakka."

The red headed blitzer watched the movements of the shield and the rocks carefully, noticing a pattern. Once he was sure, he threw the ball and hit the light. The shield stopped rotating and the light turned red.

"Nice aim!" Dave congratulated him.

"Thanks!"

"So that's it?" Rikku asked taking a look around them. "What did that do?"

"Let's go back to the others, maybe something happened there."

They started heading back through the two water filled rooms, fighting their way through some giant fishes again and finally joined up with their friends again. Yuna was the first one to ask if they were okay.

"Yeah, we fought a bunch of fishes and we past a trial," Tidus explained.

"You're not hurt?" Quistis asked Dave.

"Nah. Very stupid fishes. I'm soaking wet but I'm okay."

"What did this trial do?" Selphie inquired. "In the temples the trial gives access to the chamber of the fayth, but what did it do here?"

"It must have opened a new path somewhere in this cave," Auron supposed. "This place was probably a temple a very long time ago. Let's get back."

Approving, everyone started back tracking to the first fork and took the other path. Once again, it split in two.

"Argh! It was too much to ask to have it simple for once?!" Zell exclaimed.

"Yeah, you'd think that just to get here, the summoners had a really hard time," Rachel stated. "They could get a break somewhere, but nope! Keep taking the trials!"

The right path turned out to be a cliff, but the left path was a long tunnel once again opening into a water filled room. Everyone turned to the swimmers who stepped forward again, ready to come through for the others.

"I pity the summoners who had to come through here without anybody to swim through that," Veronique said jokingly.

"No kidding," Tidus agreed.

He walked into the water and dived under the surface, followed with Rikku and Wakka.

"Ok, I'm not getting dry any time soon," Dave understood as he followed the other two.

The four swam under an archway into a tunnel. There was a lot of glowing stones at the bottom, providing them enough light to see where they were going. At the end of the tunnel, they found what appeared to be the Second Trial of Gagazet. Three circles were glowing, each of a different color on the wall underwater. Curious, Tidus went to touch one. It lit up in a blue light, but when he removed his hand, it went back to normal. He tried to go touch another, but nothing happened. He swam to the surface where the others were waiting.

"I'm not sure what we're supposed to do here."

"Bah, it's obvious to me," Dave said. "The three need to be lit at the same time."

"Oh duh!" Rikku said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, let's try this again," Tidus said.

He went back underwater to go touch the blue light that had reacted to him earlier. It lit up again. Rikku hit the green one and Wakka, the red while Dave looked around to see if it caused anything. The three panels lit up but nothing seemed to happen. The three broke the surface once more.

"So… What now?" Rikku asked.

"Maybe something happened behind?" Wakka supposed.

"Let's go see," Dave said.

They fought their way back to the others and informed them of the Second Trial successfully completed, but they had no idea what it did. Everyone turned around, backtracking a little.

"Hey, look!" Kerry suddenly said. "That wasn't there when we first came here!"

She was right, a new path was revealed, probably made from rocks that fell from the ceiling and piled up to form a way.

"I guess that's what we did," Tidus stated.

They climbed the new path, eager to leave this damp hole.

"Wonder if I'll ever get dry…" Dave wondered as he walked up the stone path with his clothes sticking to him.

"I could cast a tornado spell on you to dry you up, but there are risks," Quistis said jokingly.

While mostly everyone including Dave burst into laughter as they climbed, almost out of the tunnel, Yuna remained slightly behind. Auron stopped in front of her.

"They'll be upon us soon," Auron told. "She has sent fiends to test our summoner's strength."

"Who is "she"?" Yuna inquired.

"Yunalesca."

"Lady Yunalesca?" Yuna repeated in surprise moving next to Auron.

"In Zanarkand," Auron explained. "She awaits the arrival of the strongest."

"She… is still alive?"

"As much as Mika and Seymour."

"I see."

"Lost your nerve?"

"No. Nothing frightens me now."

Auron turned to the road, looking ahead.

"Braska would be proud."

The others were standing a little further. They had noticed the two had fallen behind so they stopped their advance. Tidus and Wakka waved at them to catch up. Yuna turned to them with a determined look in her eyes.

"Then… I must not let him down."

She quickly caught up with everyone and they pressed on. The tunnel finally lit up and the sound of wind echoed against the walls. Light could be seen further up the tunnel. The rock formation was also changing colors and a thin trail of snow was rolling down in the middle of the road. They stepped out of the tunnel to the surface onto a larger platform. The sky was red due to the sun setting in the horizon and there was no more snow around.

The moment they came out of the tunnel, Auron shouted a warning.

"It comes!"

A large scaly monster that could be compared to a dragon was waiting for them. It had nasty looking claws, was standing on four legs and had a very long tail, large horns wrapping around its face, and four wing-like things on its back formed of five curved up whips.

Always ready, the SeeDs quickly reached their weapons and took them out, placing themselves between Yuna and the monster. Despite what happened, Squall and Carole both stood ready as well. No matter how hard it appeared to deal with something, the female SeeD would never let it come before a threatening monster. There would be plenty of time to worry about Tidus being a dream after the monster was properly disposed of.

Not waiting for the guardians to attack first, the monster stretched the whip shaped wings towards the sky, shooting beams from the end of every one of them in the air. The beams came thundering down on the scattered group.

"Ugh! I hate beam attacks!" Zell stated.

He dashed the monster and gave it a couple of good punches and withdrew.

"Zell, look out!" Squall warned.

The blond turned around to see the tail smack him and send him flying into the wall. He bounced off the wall and collapsed to the ground.

"Zell!" Rachel screamed running to him.

He got up right away.

"Oww… dammit, why the hell am I always the one to be counter-attacked?"

"Because you don't think, chicken-wuss."

"And why the hell do you always call me that?!"

"Because it makes you mad," Seifer answered with a smile.

"Quit it, you two," Squall commanded. "You okay, Zell?"

"Yeah, I'm just freakin' pissed!"

Rachel handed Zell a potion and forced him to drink it despite his efforts to assure her he was fine. He drank it and did feel a little better after all. Satisfied, Rachel went back to the fight.

"This thing has a thick armor, in case anybody cares," Zell told the others. "Kinda hard to place in some hits."

Auron brandished his weapon and slashed at the monster. A clashing sound was heard.

"This should take care of it."

His Armor Break ability really came in handy. The gunblades could slash through armor and the shots were helping the blow to get in, but normal blades had a hard time cutting through. Now that the armor was broken, it would make things easier.

The monster started casting a spell so everyone stood on guard. They were still studying it. It cast a protect spell on itself, forming an invisible shield in front of itself.

"Ah great!" Dave said sarcastically. "Take off one protection and it's replaced by another."

"It's okay, we can do this!" Rinoa assured.

"Let's try that again," Seifer stated, casting a spell.

It was a dispel spell, but it did not remove the shield.

"Crap, looks like it's immune."

"It will take a little longer, then," Veronique said. "No biggie."

The wings stretched out towards the sky again and unleashed the beams once more. Bracing themselves for impact, everyone received the random blows for minor damage.

"It's annoying, but at least it doesn't hurt too bad," Tidus noted before he ran and slashed.

He did not get counterattacked this time which made them realize it was a little like the golem they fought on the exit of the Calm Lands.

They followed pretty much the same attack pattern they did against Seymour, one line at a time. Yuna even added Bahamut to the fight. The mighty Aeon stood proudly in front of the monster with his arms folded as if this was only a formality. He hovered towards it and clawed it hard. Growling with rage, the monster dug its claws into the ground and started trembling, gathering energy.

"Everyone! Get behind the Aeon!" she demanded.

Everyone quickly did as she said and she asked Bahamut to adopt a defensive stance. Leaning forward with his arms crossed in front of him, Bahamut stood ready. A magic circle appeared in front of the monster's face and a large beam of light suddenly burst out from it, aiming at Bahamut. In defence state, Bahamut was almost invulnerable so the Mana Beam did almost nothing at all. And thanks to the Aeon standing in front of everyone, nobody else was hurt.

"Thanks Yuna, but do you think you could dismiss it? I appreciate the help, but it's a little in the way," Squall said.

"Oh, right!" Yuna agreed, realizing that with its size, it made it harder for the others to attack the monster.

She dismissed it and the direct fighters hurried back to the front line.

The monster made a step forward and clawed Selphie. Yuna immediately threw her a cura.

Everyone fought the best they could, sometimes being counterattacked, keeping Yuna busy with healing. The monster unleashed Photon Wings more times and eventually readied a Mana Beam again.

"Oh crap scatter!" Squall called.

Quick as lightning, Veronique literally flew to the front line and placed her hands in front of her.

"Veronique!" Wakka called.

When the beam hit, it splattered on a large invisible shield in front of her. Wind blew around the area, caused by the heavy amount of energy scattering around.

"Oh my god!" Tidus exclaimed, placing an arm over his face.

When the beam died out and the wind settled, Veronique let her arms down, breathing out. Concerned, Wakka hurried to her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, that one asked a lot out of me."

She smirked.

"Finish that thing so we can keep going now. I don't think I can do that again."

"Take it easy, Veronique," Carole advised holding her gunblade in two hands in front of her. "Thanks for the help!"

"No problem!"

_I'll be helping more than you think…_

The monster started showing signs of exhaustion.

"Just a little more!" Tidus exclaimed as he dashed the monster once more.

When he slashed it, the monster readied a spell. It used curaga on itself, recovering almost completely.

"Oh come on!" Tidus said, angry.

"The hell!? Now we have to start over!"

Feeling revitalized, the monster used Photo Wings again, giving Yuna something to do. Auron and Tidus slashed it; Squall, Seifer and Carole slashed and shot it; Irvine and Adam shot it, everyone worked hard again. Avoiding the tail sweep started to prove difficult.

"I… I don't think I can take much more," Audrey stated.

"I'm running out of magic," Yuna said in a sorry tone.

Everyone was getting tired. In the end, Yuna could only use normal cures. Those were not enough to heal the SeeDs with lots of vitality. Some even had to stand back and leave the fight. Kerry, Rachel and Audrey were out and Yuna joined them, trying to see if she could help their wounds any other way. Veronique was exhausted as well, but she refused to let Wakka fight alone. She lost one brother already, she was not losing this one, not without a fight. Lulu was running out of magic also. Carole was leaning forward, panting, her gunblade heavy in her hands. That's when the monster started preparing another Mana Beam to everyone's horror.

"Holy shit!" Zell exclaimed.

"We're not gonna make it…" Carole trailed off.

Squall looked at her with a serious face for half a second then he ran towards the monster.

"Everybody get the hell out of the line of fire!"

"Squall, what are you doing?" Carole asked in a scream.

He stood right in front of the monster as the magic circle appeared. He turned to her and smiled comfortingly while everyone else hurried to press their back on the wall.

"Trust me," he simply said.

He raised the gunblade in front of him, a palm on the blade and the beam was unleashed.

"Oh my god!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Squall, get away from there!" Seifer yelled.

"What is he doing?" Tidus asked.

Carole felt her heart beat harder in her chest and she felt her cheeks get hotter. Her sight got blurry as well.

When the beam died out, Squall was on a knee, panting.

"He actually survived that?" Lulu stated, surprised.

A red aura suddenly wrapped around Squall. The SeeDs' face all lightened up as they understood his idea.

"A Limit Break!"

Swinging his gunblade back, Squall dashed the monster and started slashing about seven times. When he stopped to take a break, he started glowing for a second. The Lionheart started radiating power and he swung upwards at the monster, actually taking it off the ground. Everyone widened their eyes seeing the monster fly to the sky and Squall crouched down to push himself off the ground as well with enhanced speed. He slashed the monster in mid-air back and forth fifteen times, causing the monster to spin on itself. The blue gunblade started glowing some more and Squall literally flew through the monster, slashing it in half and causing an explosion of energy inside of it. The monster fell back to the ground heavily and collapsed. Squall landed a little in ahead of it, collapsing on a knee again, trying to catch his breath.

Everyone was holding their breath as the monster vanished in a ton of pyreflies until there was nothing left of it.

"I never get tired of watching him do that," Zell said with a smile.

While they were all frozen in front of the incredible display of power they just witnessed, Carole ran to Squall who had just dropped his gunblade. She dropped to her knees next to him and he turned his exhausted and pained face to her. Still, he smiled weakly.

"Looks like that worked," he said.

"If you were not so badly wounded I'd punch you!" Carole replied in a tone showing a mixture of anger and fear. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Everyone was exhausted, Carole. I had to do something. And there was no time to tell you all about it. I hadn't taken enough damage to trigger my limit break, I needed more."

"And you had to take that beam in the face?"

She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.

"Oww, hey go easy."

"You fool…" she trailed off in a whisper. "Couldn't you just use an aura spell?"

"Those have side effects. When I get worn out by blows, I just might be able to use Lion Heart. I can't control which finishing move I use, sometimes I don't even feel it."

Seeing the danger had passed, the others started getting closer.

"Oh man, that was so awesome!" Tidus exclaimed. "Wow, forget the Final Aeon, Squall can kick Sin's ass with that!"

"He can't use that at will, Tidus," Quistis explained. "It is very risky, he could have died trying."

Tidus's face twisted in a grimace.

"Ah, nevermind then."

He wanted to find a way to save Yuna, he was not going to get someone else killed in order to do that.

Carole let go of Squall and started casting a spell, a hand in front of her face as she focused it. When she placed her hand on Squall's chest, he flinched.

"Ow."

It was as if something burned him just before the healing light engulfed him. He frowned in shock. He felt perfectly fine. He grabbed his gunblade and got up. He was not the only one to be surprised.

"Wow, you got all better with just one spell?" Irvine asked. "It usually takes a bunch to get you back to normal."

"Yeah…" Squall trailed of turning to Carole.

He frowned again. He could have sworn her eyes were red for half a second before they went brown again. When he blinked though, she looked normal so he supposed maybe it was only the setting sun reflecting in her eyes.

Despite their exhausted state, everyone was ready to start moving again. They had to if they did not want to freeze. Dave even sneezed. His clothes did not dry completely before they had left the tunnel and getting outside with soaked up clothes did not help him. It was warmer than it was before, but the wind was still cold. He had to find a warmer place to dry or he could get really sick.

"Hey!" Rikku called. "Can't we rest a little?"

"No need," Auron said walking forward. "We reach the summit soon."

"I know," Rikku replied putting a hand on her hip. "That's why I want to stop for a bit."

She turned around and crouched down.

"Soon means that… there's not much time left."

"Rikku…" Yuna trailed off.

The others understood her dilemma quite well. She was not eager to see Yuna get the Final Aeon and die. Nobody was.

Frowning, Rikku got up.

"Fine. I'll think on the way."

She walked ahead.

The others followed but Tidus stood there with his head down. Wakka walked up to him.

"Hey come on, let's go."

"We are almost there, aren't we? Tidus asked, clenching his fists.

"We've come a long way," Wakka answered, shrugging.

Ahead of them, Auron chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Tidus wondered, bending his head aside.

"You remind me of myself. Before, the closer I came to Zanarkand, the more I wondered when we arrive, Braska will call the Final Aeon… He will fight Sin, then die. I thought my mind was made up long before. But when I stood here, my resolve wavered."

Wakka stepped forward, scratching the back of his head. Others stood a little bewildered as well, surprised to hear Auron talk like that.

"Huh, never would have figured," Wakka said. "Legendary guardians choke sometimes too, ya?"

Auron turned around, a smile hidden half way behind the collar on his face.

"Legendary guardian?" he asked, amused. "I was just a boy. A boy about your age, actually. I wanted to change the world too. But I changed nothing. That is my story."

Auron walked ahead, traced by the boy he raised in place of his father and the others followed, surprised to realize Auron had worries of his own.

They walked up a circular path and when they got a view of the horizon, they came to a stop. Tidus stared at the ruined building spreading far away at the foot of the mountain. Ruins as far as the eye could see. As if reality struck, Tidus slowly ran his gaze over the ruins of the city that used to me his home. A city dead for a thousand years. A city he had to see with his own eyes. Then he looked at Yuna while everyone else was either staring at the ruins along without a single sound, or looking at his face wondering how he was dealing with it. He was thinking that this was the end of Yuna's journey. Then he looked back ahead. He was trying, but he could not find words to say how he felt. His thought kept floating up and then slipping through his fingers.

The SeeDs never saw something like that. The thought even crossed some of their minds that if Esthar would ever be destroyed, it would probably look like that. Standing next to his future wife, Squall turned his eyes to her. She shivered, shaken by a cold chill.

With a sad face, Rikku faced Yuna before Squall could ask Carole if she was fine.

"Yuna, I say no!" Rikku suddenly said. "If we go down there, then you'll…"

She lowered her head and shut her eyes. Knowing what she was implying, Lulu turned her head at the horizon and Wakka looked at the sky. Yuna walked closer in front of Rikku.

"Rikku. You're a true friend, and I thank you, but… I must go down, to Zanarkand!"

She was still determined to fulfill her goal.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't go," Rikku explained. "But shouldn't we think about it some more? There's gotta be a way we can save you, Yuna!"

Everyone was thinking the same thing of course. None of them wanted to see Yuna die, even for the sake of Spira.

The summoner lowered her head.

"All my life, I knew this moment would come."

"Yunie…"

Yuna made a sudden move forward, dropping a sphere in the process and she hugged Rikku, pressing her forehead against hers.

"Thank you, Rikku. Thank you for everything," Yuna said moving her head back.

"Don't say that, Yunie!" Rikku begged as she put her head aside Yuna's. "It's not over yet!"

Yuna moved her hand higher on Rikku's back and held her close.

"Tell Cid thank you," she asked.

"No… You can tell him yourself."

They let go of each other.

"Please…" Yuna pleaded.

"Yunie," Rikku started slowly shaking her head down. "Don't say that because… we're gonna see each other again, okay?"

Yuna turned around.

"Kimahri, let's go."

Sadness was showing in Rikku's voice and in her eyes. With fear and concern in their hearts, but unwavering resolve in Yuna's, the guardians headed up the rock path while Tidus remained behind, staring at the sphere Yuna had dropped without realizing it. At first he wanted to pick it up and run after her to give it back, but then curiosity took over. He picked it up and put it against his ear, closing his eyes, his heart beating hard in his chest.

Carole turned around when she noticed he was not following and Squall watched her along with Kerry. Seeing the sphere, Carole wanted to go to him and know what it was about, but Squall stopped her.

"Leave him."

Looking at him, she understood and nodded.

Yuna's voice sounded in the sphere.

"Sir Auron, Kimahri told me when my father wanted me taken from Bevelle to Besaid… It was you who told Kimahri, right?"

An image of the travel agency could be seen in the sphere. Lulu was standing by the door which opened and Wakka came out. On the side, Rachel and Zell were playing with a chocobo and Kerry was watching them.

"I had always wanted to meet you someday," Yuna's voice continued. "I am truly glad that I had that chance. Having you as a guardian was so great an honor I don't know how to thank you. Perhaps if I defeat Sin, that will be my thanks to you. That's what I'll do. Yes. I will challenge Sin. I will defeat Sin. If you are all there watching this, then I guess Sin is already gone. And so am I, I suppose."

Lulu walked inside the travel agency.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say: Sir Auron, I thank you."

Wakka ran towards the chocobo fence and sat down in front of it.

"Kimahri…"

Yuna giggled.

"Do you remember the first day we met? I was only seven. My father had defeated Sin and all Bevelle was celebrating. Everyone was saying what a hero my father was. I was so happy. But when night came, it occurred to me. My father had defeated Sin and now he was dead. Now, I was all alone. I couldn't sleep, so I wandered into the town, away from the celebrating crowds. I stood on the bridge in Bevelle where my father and I had parted. Standing there, alone, I could see the fields where he had fought Sin."

Inside the sphere, Kimahri walked by from the left towards the right.

"Then, you appeared, Kimahri. You said you were looking for the daughter of Braska," she said in a deep voice in an attempt to imitate Kimahri. "Remember? At first, I was so scared. Until I realized what a gentle person you are."

She giggled.

"You weren't used to talking to children. When I told you that I was Braska's daughter, you said you would take me as far from Bevelle as you could. That it was the wish of a man facing death. I think… I cried then. Because that… that was when I knew my father was dead… and I would never see him again. You just held me, without saying a word. I cried after we got to Besaid, too. When you tried to go after leaving me in the care of the temple… I held on to you, crying, "Don't go, don't go!" And you listened, Kimahri. You stayed. Kimahri, thank you. Thank you so much. And I've always liked your broken horn."

The whole travel agency area looked peaceful at that moment with the sun setting in the horizon.

"Wakka, Lulu: I'll never forget my days spent with you, growing up in Besaid. We always played together, us and Chappu. That's why I was always so happy, I think. And when you refused to let me become a summoner and I did it anyway… I'm sorry. I've always wanted to apologize. You know, when you tried to stop me then – really, I was happy. I could tell you really cared about me. You were like my big brother and big sister. No… I think you really were my big brother and sister."

She sighed.

"What else… I love watching you play blitzball, Wakka."

She started laughing.

"I even love it when you scold me, Lulu!" she said and then laughed some more. "Really!"

Then she made a sound like she just remembered something.

"Oh, and all of you who came from a different world, if you are all still there as well I want to thank you all too. I hope that by then, you found your missing friends. Thank you all for coming along with me, even though you did not have to. I really appreciate that you did. I pray that you can all go back home together safely."

Yuna's face showed up in the sphere. She was sitting at the edge of a cliff over the sea, looking down at the sphere.

"I guess that leaves the newest guardian. Star player of the Zanarkand Abes! You are… I am… Well, um… I'm glad… I'm glad that we met. We haven't even known each other that long, but…"

She took a long breath and Tidus walked out of the agency behind her, looking towards her.

"It's funny. So this is what it feels like. It's a much more wonderful feeling than anything I had ever imagined. Wonderful… but it hurts, sometimes. I wonder. I… I just want to say, thank you for everything. Maybe… Maybe that's why it hurts. When I… When I think about us not being able to be together at all, I'm afraid."

Tidus walked towards her and shortly after, Carole came out of the agency, looking around for Kerry.

"No, I shouldn't say that," Yuna decided. "I'll do that part over. Um…"

"Whatcha up to?" Tidus interrupted her.

That was when Yuna turned it off and quickly hid it away.

Slowly bringing it down, Tidus put it away and looked up the rock path. Carole, Squall and Kerry were still standing there, looking at him. He nodded at them and walked towards them at a quick pace.

"Are you okay?" Carole inquired with concern.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it."

She reached a hand to her chest and grabbed the griever for comfort, feeling something hurt inside her. Squall noticed it as well, but said nothing.

The four started climbing up the path circling around the mountain to catch up with the others until they came to a larger part of rock showing a great view of the ruins of Zanarkand down below. Slowly falling behind when her pace shortened, Carole sounded like she choked, immediately catching Squall's attention.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Ahead, everyone had also come to a stop and Veronique had a strange look on her face, looking at Carole. The female commander walked towards the edge and watched the city under her feet with countless pyreflies floating about.

"Wow…" Carole whispered. "So much sadness and anger in this place… There must be lots of fiends too, and strong ones."

Zell turned to her and arched an eyebrow.

"How do you know that?"

She looked at him, unsure of what he meant.

"Know what?"

"About the sadness and anger thing. I feel the air is heavy, but I can't tell as much as you."

"Well, I dunno, it was pretty obvious to me. I can almost hear the dead around here. Surely someone else can feel that too, right?"

Everyone stared at her, amazed, then simply shook their heads. Except for Veronique and Rinoa.

"No, they can't," Rinoa said. "They can feel something but lack the power to tell exactly what it is."

"What do you mean, lack the power?" Carole asked, her heart suddenly starting to beat faster as she grew nervous.

"Carole… You are a Sorceress, aren't you?"

The whole place suddenly became silent. Completely. Everyone just stared at Carole with wide opened eyes. A bomb would have exploded right in front of them they would have had the same reaction.

"Wh… what are you talking about, Rinoa?" the girl asked in shock, feeling her heart beat faster in her chest for some reason and her whole body start trembling. "It's not funny, you know! Don't joke about that!"

Veronique lowered her head and sighed. Then she looked up and walked straight in front of Carole, a fatal look on her face.

"It's no joke, Carole. Rinoa is right: you are a Sorceress."


	29. Chapter 28: The Oath

Chapter

**Chapter 28: The Oath**

"It's no joke, Carole. Rinoa is right: you are a sorceress," Veronique confirmed in a sorry tone.

Carole just stared back at her as everything around started going blurry. It couldn't be right, she refused to believe that.

"No… you're wrong… I can't be…"

"Look at the facts. When you fell overboard the ship to Luca, a red aura surrounded you, protecting you."

"So that's what it was?" Tidus wondered out loud.

The others looked at him and he explained.

"I thought it was unusual, but since she was from another world, I didn't think it was… I thought maybe it was normal for you…"

"I… I don't know anything about that…" Carole trailed off.

"Of course, you were unconscious. You did it mostly subconsciously."

"No… it can't be right…"

"Operation Mi'ihen, when Sin's attack should have killed everyone. Those around you were spared because you raised a powerful shield. Nobody saw anything but me."

"That's not possible…" her voice turned hoarse.

"The visions you had on the ship that night that freaked you out when you realized they were from the future."

Carole put her hands on her ears, refusing to hear more as she saw the images flash inside her head and suddenly remembered how distressed she felt that night.

"No! It was just a dream!"

"In Luca when you tried to attack me, first time you bounced off my shield, second you went right through it. And those black outs… remember the burning feeling inside of you? And even Squall's turning into an animal is your doing. When my dome took you here, he held you and you thought you didn't want anything to happen to him, you wanted to protect him. By wishing for that, you sealed his heart inside your own. Without his heart, his body turned into some sort of lion. It took me a while to understand it, but once I did, everything became clear. At first, I was amused to see you were a sorceress, I thought it would make things quite interesting since you were not even aware of it. But then I realized you had too much power boiling inside you and it could become dangerous, so I tried to hold it inside you the best I could. But it grew stronger, so I could no longer do it from afar."

"That's why you joined us?" Rinoa asked.

"The other reasons I gave you back then are all true. This is just a reason I did not mention. I could only make you temporarily forget about your worries to ease your heart a bit. It was getting too hard…"

Squall stepped forward and tried to find a logical explanation to the situation.

"It's not possible, Carole can't be a sorceress. Sorceresses receive their powers from another one, and the only known Sorceress remaining is Rinoa, and she never gave Carole her powers."

Rinoa nodded to the sentence but she still stood by what she figured. She had no clue how, but there was no denying it, Carole was a sorceress.

"But how?" she asked.

Everyone instinctively turned to Veronique, convinced she was the only one able to answer that question. Carole was trembling from head to toe, and her face was white as a sheet. Veronique walked in front of her and looked straight at her.

"I can check your past. From your memories, I can access anybody else's memories, as long as they came into contact with you at one point or another. Will you let me?"

Carole wanted to refuse, to stand her ground and say it was a mistake, that she was normal, that it was just a gift she developed after her illness. Her head was buzzing slightly when she slowly nodded. She wanted the truth as much as the others.

"Alright, close your eyes."

She did as she was told and Veronique placed her hands on her temples. Everything started spinning and turned white in her head. Then it stopped and familiar scenery appeared. It was Odine's lab back in Esthar. Odine himself was standing in front of a computer, absorbed in some data analysis.

"Zis isn't right either… Adel's DNA completely overpowers every other girl's DNA. The simulations always show complete obliteration of the subject's DNA…"

He tapped a few switches and watched the result on screen. It was always the same thing.

A soldier came in carrying a crate.

"Doctor, I got new samples from more girls."

"Good, give zem to me."

The soldier gave the crate to Odine who carefully took out a couple blood samples. He picked one and put it in the machine to have it analyzed and turned into data. He was running simulation based on the DNA data of each samples. He did not have that much of Adel's blood left and could not afford to waste it, so he performed simulations first and saved the real sample for the final experiment.

Turning DNA into data is a long process so Odine ran simulations for yet a couple more weeks, never giving up, his determination never faltering despite the series of failures he encountered so far.

"Maybe it iz impossible after all… Maybe sorceress DNA is too strong to be sustained by normal girls. Not any girl can do, I need a perfect match."

He ran a couple more simulations and suddenly, something happened that never happened before. Expecting to see the girl data destroyed by Adel's once again, he froze when he saw something different happen on screen. The data combined like two liquids which mix together and became a completely different kind of data. Odine's eyes grew wide as he got closer to the screen.

"Can it be?" he whispered.

He stopped the process and started the simulation all over again with the same sample. The same result occurred. The two samples mixed in harmony, like they were made for each other. Just to make sure, he took another sample's data and ran the simulation. Failure. He took the previous sample's data again and ran the simulation yet again. It still mixed.

"I have to try with the real sample…"

He took Adel's blood sample from a thick vault in a corner. Kept cold to avoid losing it, he waited a moment then tried mixing the blood sample he had with part of it, just in case. He was taken aback to see it mix perfectly, just like in the simulation. He could barely contain himself. Years after Adel was gone, he finally found a match to her DNA sample.

"Who is it? Who does zis sample belong to?"

He checked the name written on it by the soldier who collected it.

"Carole Marceau… She lives on the other edge of the city. Five years old, may be a little young, but it's even better zis way. She will grow up with it… I can make a sorceress with zis girl! Soldier!"

A soldier came in with a salute.

"Yes, doctor?"

"Find me that girl, Carole Marceau. Here's her address. Bring her to me as soon as possible and unharmed! It iz very important!

"Yes doctor."

The soldier left and Odine started walking back and forth in his lab, eager to perform the final experiment that would make him even more famous than the day he found out about the draw system. He never gave up on the possibility to make a Sorceress without having a girl receive her powers from another one. That dream could finally be fulfilled.

Few hours later, the soldier came back in with a salute, but his being alone caused Odine to frown.

"Vere is the girl?"

"I'm sorry doctor, her house was left empty and when I asked around I found out she, and her entire family has been moved to the Lunar Base. Her parents were requested to work on it, and they asked permission to bring their daughters along."

"VAT!? No, it can't be! Not now that I'm so close!"

He banged his fist on the counter behind him and kept his head down a moment. Then he turned back to the soldier.

"Alright, keep me informed. You are to know every move of that girl, you hear me? The day she comes back from zere, you come telling me, you got that?"

"Yes sir!"

The soldier left and Odine turned back to the screen still showing the mixed DNA flashing on screen.

"She is my only hope…"

The lab faded away in a cyclone and reappeared, looking a little different. Odine himself looked different, older. Many years have passed.

A soldier suddenly burst in the lab.

"Doctor Odine, sir! The girl you asked us to watch out for!"

Even though more than ten years have passed, Odine never lost sight of his goal.

"Yes?"

"Bad news, sir! The Lunar Base crashed during the Lunar Cry!"

"Vat!? Any survivors?"

"The air station crew is gone to pick them up."

"Keep me informed."

"Yes sir."

The soldier left and Odine started walking back and forth nervously.

"If she died, my dream dies with her…"

Another jump in the future.

"Sir!" a soldier started as he ran into the lab. "I'm sorry sir, we missed her."

"Vat do you mean?"

"We could not move freely across the city because of the monsters and when we managed to reach the house, we found it empty yet again. It appears the girl's family moved to Balamb town."

"Dammit, why does she keep evading me…?"

"Sir, there's more… She entered Balamb Garden to become a SeeD."

Odine's face slightly twisted at the memory of his last encounter with a Balamb SeeD. Squall Leonhart threatened his life over Rinoa.

"We can't storm in zere and try to take her. There would be too many unnecessary losses."

"What do we do, sir?"

"The same thing I did for over ten years, we wait. An opportunity is bound to rise sooner or later. I have waited for ten years, I can wait some more. Have soldiers watch over her at all times and keep me informed of her whereabouts at all times. Ze moment she gets anywhere near Esthar, we get her."

"Yes, sir!"

The scene faded once again and jumped just a little further ahead in time.

"Sir! She's here!"

"Vat do you mean, here?"

"In Esthar, sir! The girl is in Esthar right now! She has become a SeeD and is carrying a mission for the president!"

"She's not alone, is she?"

"No, she came with other SeeDs and they split into groups of four. She is accompanied with a girl and two guys. Sir, one of the guys is actually the Balamb SeeD leader, Squall Leonhart."

Odine bit his bottom lip.

"Why does he always have to be involved with my sorceress business? Watch them and should he ever, for any reason, leave the girl's side, you strike and bring her to me. Zis is too good an opportunity to let it slip away."

"What about the other two?"  
"Just take zem out of the way, but no killing. Simply knock them out."

"Yes sir!"

A while later, a couple of soldiers came in, holding Carole, hands tied up behind her back. They brought her to a chair and sat her down.

"Let me go! What do you want with me?"

_I need to find a pretext… I can't just go and tell her I will make her a sorceress…I got it!_

He took out the syringe he kept locked up for so long. He had a hard time keeping a straight face as he got closer to her, hiding it behind his back.

He started asking her about Rinoa's whereabouts, pretending he needed her and when Carole refused to speak, he showed her the needle, pretending it was a truth serum. When he gave her the shot, he noticed changes right away. Her eyes flashed for half a second and she started feeling weird, convinced it was the effect of the serum. When she fainted, he rose, satisfied.

"Take her to ze cell below, and keep her tied up. Now to wait for the changes to be completed."

But not long after she was taken to the cell, the girl's companions arrived and Odine sent soldiers after them. The girl had to stay with him until she would wake up. But then Squall came barging in and pointed his gunblade right at his throat. His experiment would be no good if he died in the process so he allowed the girl free. He watched Squall unlock the cell from the control panel and run back down to get her.

"If any changes occur, I will learn about it soon enough… I'm starting to think zis sorceress business is bad for my health."

Not so long after, he had a visit from president Laguna who wanted to know what on earth he did to the girl to make her blind and deaf. Surprised, Odine promised to search the matter right away. He thought maybe she rejected the sample after all and he failed. He thought to himself that if it was the case, then he would stop. No more experiment regarding sorceresses. He was getting too old and it was getting too dangerous.

Everything started spinning again and stopped. It was over. Carole opened her eyes and dropped on her knees, her legs unable to sustain her weight anymore. She stared at the ground, unable to believe the truth slowly sinking in.

"So it really was from side effects…" Rinoa trailed off.

Veronique extended the scenes to everyone, so they would all know what happened back then. She nodded.

"Yes, her body partly shut off to allow the changes inside her."

"But why could she still hear Squall?" Rachel asked in a low tone.

"They were already linked. It's more like she allowed him to be able to talk to her even in her state. Although she did not do it on purpose. Since she was that way for two months, Odine really believed it didn't work. It would have taken less time than that if he would have gotten her at a younger age."

Everyone turned to Carole and stared at her, shocked. She was the one to be most shocked. She was a sorceress… and not even a real one, she was made that way, the result of years of research from a crazy man.

Everyone knew she had to be comforted, but no one had any idea what to say to her.

Carole hugged her shoulders tightly.

"So that's what it was… that's what was burning inside me… That's how I survived Sin's attack…"

"Since the moment I realized you were a Sorceress, I also realized you had no control over your powers, since you were not aware of their existence. And since you can't control them… you can go berserk at anytime… That's what that burning feeling is. It urges to come out."

Everyone suddenly grew nervous and stared at Carole as if she was going to start a killing spree at that very moment.

"I'm not even a real Sorceress… The result of fifteen years of intense research… a lab experiment… I'm… I'm a monster!"

She looked up and scanned the group, willing to know what they were thinking. They were all shocked and some even avoided her gaze. When she crossed Kerry's eyes, the younger girl had a staggering step backwards. She was not only shocked, she was scared. It was too much for Carole to bear. She grabbed her head and let out a loud yell of pain. She jumped to her feet and started running down the mountain, back the way they came. This seemed to snap some people out of their shocked state.

"Carole!" Rachel called out.

Squall broke through the group to run after her, full of concern, but Tidus grabbed his arm.

"Wait, let me go," he offered.

"You don't know anything about Sorceresses, Tidus."

"Exactly, that's why I should be the one to get her. I don't know much of your world, and I don't care if she is a sorceress. She seems to handle this roughly, but the two other sorceresses I know are pretty decent to me, so I don't see any difference. Since you are used to dealing with them, especially evil ones, you may not know what to say, but I think I do. It's the least I can do for a girl I consider my little sister," he finished with a smile before running after Carole.

As she ran down the mountain and back through the cave, she could barely see where she was going. Her sight was blurred, her head was buzzing and her trembling legs were causing her to trip every now and then, but she managed to keep running.

"I'm a monster… I'm a monster… I'm a monster…"

She kept repeating those words again and again when her foot got stuck on a stone past the wall of fayth and she fell face first in the snow. She remained there a moment, trembling from head to toe, numb. She slowly got on her knees and kept her head down, her fists clenched on her thighs.

"I can… go berserk anytime…" she whispered. "I could end up killing everyone…"

Her body temperature started rising and a red flaming aura surrounded her, blowing her hair up around her.

"I… I am a SeeD… SeeD's duty is… to defeat the sorceress. If I am one, then… I'll defeat myself!"

Her temperature built up even more, causing the snow around and under her to melt away, leaving only the stone path under it. Her hair started moving around like wind was coming from everywhere. She looked ahead of herself, tears rolling down her face from her red flashing eyes.

"Let this power consume me… before it hurts anyone else…"

She already could not feel the cold anymore. In fact it was getting pretty hot around her.

"Wait!" a voice called from behind her. "Don't do that!"

It sounded desperate, close but so far at the same time.

Two arms wrapped around her shoulders and an extra weight was pressed on her back.

"Don't do that! Do not use your power to destroy yourself!" Tidus begged in her ear.

He held on tightly despite how hot she had gotten. She froze for a second.

"Let go of me, Tidus! I have to do this!"

"No! If you burst in flames, then so do I! And I know you don't want it!"

"That's why I'm telling you to let go! I don't want to hurt anyone…"

"Killing yourself is not the proper way to deal with this!"

The girl turned her head with tears rolling down her face. Tidus had his eyes shut, hanging on tightly to keep her from getting away even though she was not even fighting back.

"I don't know how to deal with this…"

"You are strong, I know you are. You don't have to fight it, just accept it! You have more power than anyone else, put it to good use!"

"I don't know how…"

"You will, I know you will! I believe in you!"

Her hair stopped being blown around slowly and her temperature dropped back to normal. But even when the burst of energy stopped, Tidus did not let go. In fact, he was trembling.

"Don't tell me you really thought anybody would have been happy if you'd have done it?"

"I couldn't think… The only thing in my mind was how dangerous I have become…"

"You are not more dangerous. If you don't know how to control that power, then you'll have to learn to. And you won't be alone."

She lowered her head and saw a nasty burn all over Tidus' right forearm. She widened her eyes in horror and broke away from him.

"Oh no! Did I do that?"

"Well, that burst got you to go pretty hot."

"I'm so sorry…" she said in a whisper.

She placed a hand on his arm and what she did to Squall after he used his limit break, she did it again to Tidus. Once she was done, Tidus looked at his arm and flexed it to check it.

"Hey, not bad!"

"I figured that's how I revitalized Squall with a single spell. Might as well heal you too."

"Yeah! That's the spirit!"

Tidus got up and held his hand out to her. She grabbed it and he pulled her up. She was trying to avoid his gaze, but he was staring at her.

"You still look the same to me. Just because you know something more about yourself doesn't change who you are. Now that you know, you can focus more to keep that power in touch."

She risked an eye towards him. He was smiling comfortingly.

"Aren't you scared?"

"Of course not! I believe in you, why would I be scared of you?"

"And what about… you being a dream? Aren't you scared about that?"

He could easily see that she was terrified regarding that herself. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"A little, yeah. But it's okay, things will work out."

The worried girl bit her lower lip then threw her arms around Tidus' neck, throwing him off balance a little. Then he held her back. She started crying and he rubbed her back, letting her get it out. She was scared and exhausted, both physically and mentally. Everything was happening too fast and she felt as if she had no grasp on anything.

When her cries quieted down, Tidus waited a few more seconds before he released her.

"Did that help?" he inquired.

"I dunno…" she answered, confused. "I'm… I feel so… lost…"

"You'll work this out, I know you will. You just need a little time to sort your thoughts. Let's get back to the others."

She turned to him with her eyes wide opened with fear. Tidus gave her a comforting smile.

"Don't worry. They were shocked just as you were when they learned, but none of them is really afraid of you. Squall wanted to come after you, but I told him I would do it."

"Oh, Squall…" Carole trailed off grabbing the griever.

"Come on, he's waiting for you. And everybody else too."

She really did not want to go back, but she also knew she had to. The pilgrimage had to go on and she was delaying it. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright, let's go."

Nodding approvingly, Tidus took the lead and headed back.

"They're back!" Rikku exclaimed.

Tidus showed up first and Carole appeared close behind him. She was looking anywhere but at the others. She was afraid to see the look on their face. The minute she caught sight of her, Kerry ran to her and rammed her, hugging her tightly. Touched, Carole hugged her back.

"I'm so sorry, C-chan! I was just surprised, I'm not scared of you, honest! I know you'll never hurt us!"

"It's okay, K-chan," Carole replied with a smile of relief. "I'd understand if you were scared. I'm scared myself…"

She looked sorry, but she also felt like crying out of joy seeing the girl was worried about her and not scared anymore.

As Carole, still held by Kerry, and Tidus walked back to the others, Rinoa came forward.

"Carole, I think someone has something to tell you."

She turned her head towards Squall, standing a little to the side. Everyone moved away without a word. Squall looked uneasy, shy even as he walked through the crowd towards Carole. Tidus moved aside and Kerry, although a little reluctantly, let go of Carole to do the same thing. Carole felt her heart beat faster. The last time she saw Squall like that was the night he proposed to her what seemed like so long ago. She was very curious of what he was going to do.

In front of her, Squall cleared his throat and took a deep breath, feeling awkward with everyone staring at him. He put a knee down in front of Carole. She widened her eyes in surprise.

He knew he had to say something, but he was unsure of what and how. Then he looked at her, at her face, in her scared and confused eyes and he found the words he had to say, what she needed to hear. He took on a serious look and tried to think about her, about himself, about them, about her newfound powers and what would come out of it. Then he could talk.

"You opened your heart to me, I was lost. Then I opened my heart and realized what you meant to me. Much more than I first thought. You were ready to die for me, I risked it all for you. We went through a lot, you got sick, I took care of you, leaving my duties aside. But on this day, I learn that you were given powers beyond my imagination. I can't even begin to imagine how you feel, but I can help you carry out that burden. You are now a sorceress, worried about losing control and hurting your friends. That is why you need a knight. To help you through hard times and shield you from yourself. I offer myself as your knight. We used to walk together as comrades, team mates, then as lovers. Now, let our minds be linked along with our hearts and souls. Now that you need me more than ever, I won't ignore it. I place my life at your service. I shall stand and protect you from any threat even at the cost of my own life."

Tears were rolling down Carole's face, overwhelmed by Squall's words. She was not the only one left speechless hearing him speak that way. Even Rinoa could not remember him ever saying anything like that. When he made his oath to her back then, she thought that he never said anything as sweet but now, he looked more serious than he ever did.

Carole knew he was expecting a reply, she knew she had to reply so she looked into his eyes to find the right words as well. She found them and smiled.

"Today, I bind you to me as my knight. You will stand by my side to protect me from enemies and from myself. But I will not stand by and watch you take all the risks. As far as my powers can go, I will fight with you. I would rather be killed than hurt any one of my friends so stay with me always."

Squall got up.

"I promise…"

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly to comfort her trembling. At that moment, both felt the link form itself and Squall could not only guess her feelings anymore, he could feel them himself. Now knowing how she was really feeling made it easier for him to know what to do or say to help her. He could feel the energy flow through the both of them and found himself wondering how could sorceresses take all that and not go crazy. Then images of Adel and Ultimecia crossed his mind. As far as he knew, Adel never had a knight and except for Seifer, Ultimecia did not have one before either. Maybe that was the reason for their behaviour.

"This looks like a proposal," Yuna said, touched.

"They already went through that," Irvine told.

The couple let go of one another and Carole took on a serious look that she placed on Squall.

"Now I want you to promise me something else."

"Yes?"

"If I go berserk, I want you to kill me."

Squall widened his eyes in shock pretty much like everyone else except Rinoa.

"I knew this was coming…" she said in a whisper.

She could recall wishing for Squall to pierce her heart if she was to ever become a threat, thinking it was okay if it was to be him.

The SeeD leader took a confused face.

"Carole…"

"Please, promise me that. I will feel better knowing that if things go wrong, you will stop me."

Squall shook his head.

"I… I can't do that, Carole…"

"C-chan, you're not serious, are you?"

"Please, Squall. I'm terrified with the idea of going berserk and hurting or killing someone, but if I know you will be there to stop me if that ever happens, it will put me at ease."

Squall looked at the ground, unsure of what to do.

"I… I…"

"Hum, if you'd allow me," Tidus cut in.

Squall turned around and Carole looked up towards him. The blond came closer with a determined look on his face.

"What if I promise to do it, will it still count?"

"What?" Rachel exclaimed.

"Are you mad?" Wakka added.

Squall was frowning but Carole's face lightened up.

"Would you do it?"

"Look, I can understand you wouldn't want to kill the girl you love," Tidus said to Squall. "But… it's what she wants to hear to feel better. I really don't think this would happen but if it should happen, let me carry that burden for you. I'll do it."

Carole smiled at him, thankful.

"I'm really sorry to ask you that."

"Don't sweat it."

Squall was frowning at Tidus, but it was more in a threatening way now. Tidus turned to him before he would say anything.

"And I understand you will probably want to kill me afterwards if things come to worst."

"I would probably want to do that, yes. But… you're only doing what she wants and I won't go against that."

Tidus nodded and all the SeeDs and their friends gathered around the couple.

"Wow… so you're a sorceress now," Rachel stated. "Who would have thought you were sorceress DNA compatible."

"Makes one wonder if maybe your parents knew about that," Adam added. "After all, usually teams up on the Lunar Base get switched every six months, but your family stayed up there for ten years!"

"Hey, you're right!" Rachel said widening her eyes. "When we get back, we better make sure to tell our parents."

Carole nodded.

"And Mia-chan… I wonder how she will take this. I wonder what they're doing right now."

Rinoa stepped in front of Carole and smiled comfortingly at her.

"Don't hesitate if you have questions," she offered. "I have not been a sorceress for long and you might not have received your powers the same way I did, but you and I are sisters now."

The new sorceress smiled at the elder one, touched by her words.

"Thank you, Rinoa. I will be sure to."

"I freaked out too when I found out, but Edea helped me know more about myself. I will help you find more about yourself if you wish."

"Maybe later."

"Of course," Rinoa said with a smile, understanding.

Auron was eager to keep moving, but he understood this was a tough time for the others so he gave them the time they needed. He was not too sure to understand the sorceress business, but it really seemed to be a big deal for those people from another world.

"Hey Squall," Zell called. "I know you don't like the word "fate" but you gotta admit that your life is always filled with sorceresses, huh?"

"Yeah…" Squall agreed looking at Rinoa, then Carole. "I guess it is my fate."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and clenched it softly.

"Do you want to go back? Home, I mean."

The thought did cross her mind, but she shook her head strongly.

"No, I want to do this. If I don't see all this to the end, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror again."

Squall discreetly eyed Seifer with a corner smile as if to tell him "I told you so". Seifer smirked back at him, understanding.

"Alright then. Let's move."

Carole took a deep breath and nodded. She was feeling a lot better knowing everyone was with her, but she could not help and be scared of what she COULD do.

When the group of SeeDs walked forward to catch up to the guardians, those were waiting for them patiently.

"Uh, I'm not so sure of what the big deal is with your sorceress thing," Wakka said scratching the back of his head. "Lu can use black magic and tha's no problem."

Veronique turned to him to try and explain.

"Well, in their world a sorceress is someone like me, but with magic. I can do things nobody else can, but I can't use magic. Sorceresses can wield cosmic powers AND magic too. It's a real heavy burden for one being alone to carry."

"Which is why we have knights by our side," Rinoa added as she looked at Adam. "Someone we can lay some of that burden on."

Wakka scratched the back of his head again, confused.

"Eh, still not sure I understand."

"The only thing you need to understand," Veronique continued. "Is that they are not different than any of us. They are human with many more abilities than us. Carole and I already have one in common: we can raise shields."

"My magic is stronger," Rinoa added. "And it seems Carole's is too."

Tidus looked at his perfectly healed arm that was burned not so long ago. He had to agree with that.

Yuna stepped forward and bowed respectfully in front of Carole, making her uneasy.

"Thank you for staying."

Carole smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Yuna."

Although the mood was eased up, there was still some tensions in the air that everyone decided to leave where they were: in the air.

As they followed the path around the mountain, they came across some remnants of buildings closer to the rock structure. Buildings so old they actually looked like they turned to stone themselves throughout the years.

The path started heading downhill into the city so everyone was really careful not to slip.

Carole was falling behind, walking more slowly than the others on purpose. She kept eyeing Veronique. She had one question burning her tongue and she really wanted to ask it to her. The red head girl suddenly vanished from Wakka's side after whispering something in his ear and reappeared right next to Carole. It did not even startle the new sorceress at all.

"What's up?" Veronique asked, hovering over the ground as she used to do.

Even though she wanted to ask her something, she was still not sure how. She was afraid of the answer. But then she frowned.

"What makes you think something is up?"

"Aw come on! You might as well be psychic, I could practically hear you watching me, haha. So go on, what's on your mind?"

Carole took a deep breath to work out the nerve and say it.

"When did you find out? About me being a sorceress?"

"Ah I didn't know that when I got you here, if that's what you're asking. I kinda figured it out when you fell off the ship heading for Kilika."

"Wow… that's a long time ago. But then, why didn't you tell me before now?"

"Heh, I enjoyed watching you struggle with that for a while."

"Yeah, I bet you did. But you got with us at Home and that was a while ago too, so why tell me only now?"

Veronique stopped and landed, forcing the girl to do the same to stay at her level.

"Look, I told you now because it was getting too hard to subdue your power anymore. It really wants to get out, but I thought that if I told you, you would fight it back and get Squall to be your knight so you would share that with him. I thought it would pull some strain off you."

She looked ahead at the others who kept moving down the hill. She was hiding something.

"What else?"

Sighing, Veronique shrugged.

"All right, fine. I know something is coming. Now I don't know what!" she quickly added when she saw Carole open her mouth to say something. "I don't check into the future anymore, you know that. But I can still sense something if it's big enough. I'm fighting the urge to look because I don't want it to influence what I will do or say. Something is coming and I thought that you had to know now before that happens."

"When? Where?" Carole asked, worried.

"I dunno, I told you. I know something is coming, but I don't know what, where, when or how, okay?"

Reaching for the griever, Carole looked at the ground. Veronique tapped her arm playfully.

"Don't get worried now, okay? I've seen you struggle to get here, but I saw you come through every time. Whatever is coming, you will come through, that much I'm certain."

Carole looked back at Veronique and smiled.

"I think you're actually trying to cheer me up," she said, amused.

Veronique took off and started hovering over the ground again, placing her hands behind her head.

"Bah, the evil witch had its kick for a while, but I got bored. Trying to find a new gig, you know?"

Winking at her, she raised a thumb.

"Hang in there."

She vanished to go back to Wakka's side. Unlike Carole earlier, he was startled when she suddenly appeared next to him. Carole picked up the pace to catch up to the others a little.

Once they got inside the city, they stepped forward a little and stopped to look at the city spreading ahead of them and the sound of waves is resonating into the distance. Rikku was crouched down, her heads on her head, refusing to look at it. Yuna was up front with Kimahri standing slightly aside with his arms folded.

Everyone was exhausted so two small fires were lit and people sat down for a well earned rest. Yuna and her guardians sat down around one of the fires while the SeeDs and their friends sat down around the other. Some leaned on others' backs and fell asleep sitting. Kerry fell asleep on Carole's lap.

Not everyone slept, some simply relaxed a little.

Squall took a seat next to Carole. He could tell she was still concerned, looking at her face, but he could also tell she did not want to talk about it anymore. He simply placed an arm around her shoulders and she immediately rested her head on his shoulder, appreciating the gesture.

The weapons were placed aside, stuck into the ground. Yuna's staff, Tidus' Brotherhood with Wakka's ball at their feet. The SeeDs did the same with theirs. The gunblades had been stuck into the ground while others simply placed their weapons next to them, like Dave and Adam. Squall's blue Lionheart was making a nice contrast with Carole's Sunset. The fire was reflecting on the blades, forming dancing shadows.

His arms on his knees, Tidus withdrew his head backwards and sighed. He got up and Yuna next to him traced him. He walked behind her and placed a hand he wished comforting on her shoulder. She closed her eyes at the touch and he released her. He walked a little ahead and climbed a small hill. On the top, by a collapsed building, he looked at Zanarkand, confused. The ruins of the city, flooded at parts when the sea decided to reclaim it and pyreflies were flying all over the place. The city he always knew as his home was now dead. But then again, the Zanarkand he remembered was not even real, it was all a dream. Heck, he was a dream!

From where she was, Carole traced him and stared at him there, understanding how he was feeling. Then she closed her eyes to try and get some rest herself.


	30. Chapter 29: The trial of Zanarkand

**Chapter 29: The trial of Zanarkand**

The night came, and with it a clear sky showing countless stars. The numerous pyreflies flying around were glowing.

With Zanarkand just around the corner, Tidus had decided to tell everyone his own tale, how he ended up on Spira and everything, his thoughts on the matter. Some listened to him carefully while others dozed off or passed out.

"Hey!" he exclaimed standing up in front of the fire once he finished. "There was more, right? I mean like that time… uh… Anyone?"

Obviously, he was trying to ease the mood but nobody seemed to cheer up or even be able to. Everyone else was sitting around the two fires. Some looked at him while he talked then simply looked away. Yuna got up and Tidus turned to her.

"I think…" she started.

"Yes?"

"I think that we should stop. Maybe. For now."

Nodding, Tidus sat back down and they took it easy for a little longer. Now that they were so close to getting this done once and for all, they were eager to get it done. They did not wait for the sun to come out to start moving again. The night was clear and the air fresh, they would get to Zanarkand as soon as possible.

Some stretched when they got up, others yawned. Some were still sore but overall, everyone was fine. They grabbed their weapons and started heading towards Zanarkand.

"Let's go," Yuna said with determination in her voice.

Tidus was left standing in front of Yuna with his eyes closed. When he opened them, he grabbed Brotherhood and yanked it out of the ground. When he turned towards the road to follow the others, Rikku was looking at him with a desperate expression. Eventually, she turned around and left as well.

The SeeDs turned to their commanders and waited for their signal to go after the summoner and her guardians. Squall grabbed Lion Heart and handed Carole her Sunset. Both sheathed their weapons and turned to their comrades. All were looking ready despite the fact that they hadn't gotten that much rest. Some nodded, others smiled.

"Let's do this," Squall said.

He turned around and started heading the same way Yuna went with the others. The SeeDs followed close.

They followed the leftovers of a street. It was badly damaged, broken in many places, probably a result of the war that had caused the destruction of Zanarkand in the first place. The passage of time had also done its contribution. The air was filled with pyreflies hovering all over the place. The travelers had to be careful while following that street. It was going up and down, there were large pieces of rocks blocking it here and there and each sides of it, remains of broken buildings.

With so many pyreflies all over the place, nobody was surprised when a large monster appeared in front of them. The SeeDs found it familiar right away: it was a Behemoth. At the sight, everyone reacted quickly, taking their weapons out and standing ready. Although it looked pretty much the same, it behaved differently. Finding itself facing a group of enemies, the Behemoth rose on its hind legs, becoming a lot more impressive, dominating from the top of its size the puny insects who dared to challenge it.

"Holy shit!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Careful," Squall advised with a frown.

He was merely saying it out of habit; everyone knew to be careful around a Behemoth. The horns were as deadly as the claws, and Squall could remember the pain of the Meteor spell they were sometimes using just before dying as to take their opponents down along with them.

Tidus and Auron did not wait before running in to attack the monster with all their strength. Nothing could be taken likely ever, especially not in Zanarkand. So close, there was no way they were going to take it easy. Wakka did his part too and the SeeDs took turns to attack as well not to be in each other's way. The street was large, but not that large. The Behemoth was blocking it, making it impossible to run behind it and attack its backside.

The range fighters stood in the back row as usual, shooting at the monster, tall enough to allow them to shoot above their comrades' head without risking hurting them by mistake.

When Squall ran in as well, Seifer following close behind him, something bothered him. He slashed the gunblade at the monster, pulled the trigger and pulled back while Seifer was doing the same thing. After him, others went in to slash or hit. While everyone was focusing on the purple monster, the leader looked around. Almost everyone was either hitting it, or assisting those who did. One person was not and he immediately knew who. Frowning with concern, he took another look around and finally spotted Carole far in the back, behind the range fighters. She hadn't even taken her gunblade out. Squall feared she might not have been well, perhaps hurt and he did not notice before. He was torn between the urge to finish the monster off and removing its threat, and the urge to go to her and find out what was wrong. He turned to the monster again just to see Kimahri bring it down with a quick strike of his spear. It proved easier to kill than the ones Squall remembered encountering in the Deep Sea Research center.

With that out of the way, the long road ahead towards the center of Zanarkand became visible. It was long but beautiful. Thick cylindrical trails of pyreflies were stretching over the ruins. They were like underwater currents, but in the air.

"Looks like the Farplane," Wakka said walking next to Tidus.

"Close enough," Auron agreed behind them.

He walked past them to go meet Yuna standing further ahead and looking at them. Wakka looked a little angry with the vague comment but he followed as well.

Putting weapons away and settling down, everyone got ready to start moving again. Squall let them walk ahead and waited until he was left behind with Carole, walking slowly. Deep in her thoughts and her head down, she noticed Squall only when she spotted the tip of his black boots in front of her. She stopped and looked up as if she was surprised to see him there. He did not like the look on her face. With her eyes half-closed as if she didn't care about anything, Squall frowned but not out of anger.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a soft tone looking into her eyes.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she assured.

She tried to walk past him, but he moved slightly to the side to keep her from doing that. Unable to walk ahead, she looked at his face again. She saw concern on it.

"I'm not talking about that."

He kept quiet a moment, waiting for her to either explain or ask him what he meant, but she did neither. She simply remained there and looked at him without a word. He turned to the side to give her a little space and she started walking again, slowly. He walked next to her, never taking his eyes off her while she kept looking at the ground.

"Why did you stay behind?" he finally asked.

"Bah everyone is walking ahead."

"If you walked faster, you would be at the same pace, you know."

She took a long breath and sighed.

"Why did you stay behind during the fight?"

This time, she looked away to the opposite side.

"I didn't want to be in the way…"

"Carole…"

Something in his tone made her look at him. The blue eyes on her caused her shoulders to drop as if she was giving up.

"Why are you lying to me?" he inquired, a little hurt. "Did you already forget?"

He tapped his temple with two fingers. Carole bit her lip and looked at the ground again.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize, just tell me why."

She looked ahead at the others getting further from them due to her slow pace and Squall slowing his to stay at her level. Kerry took a look behind her, concern clearly showing on her face but when Rachel lowered herself a little and whispered something to her, Kerry turned back to look ahead of herself.

"You can't tell as much?"

"I can't read your mind, Carole. I can only feel things. I feel you lie, I feel you're scared, I just don't know why. Although I can take a wild guess."

"Go ahead," she invited him, curious.

"You're afraid to trigger the sleeping powers inside you if you fight, so you don't fight at all."

Her shoulders dropped even lower if possible. He knew her so well…

"Squall…"

"Come on, don't tell me you believe that could happen?" he asked in a surprised tone. "You fought all the way here and nothing happened, why would something happen now that you know? I thought you wanted to fight it!"

With her shoulders and her head down, her hair fell over her face, keeping Squall from seeing it from his point of view.

"Carole," he called. "Look at me."

She stopped and he did the same. She turned her head up towards him and he saw fear in her eyes. Even if he would not have seen it, he would have known. He could feel it coming from her through their link.

"I don't wanna hurt anyone…" she let out in a barely audible voice.

Immediately, Squall threw his arms around her, wrapping them around her in an attempt to shield her from the outside world. She curled up against him, closing her eyes shut.

"Isn't that why you have me?" he asked in a whisper. "I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone, I'll make sure you don't even get the opportunity to."

He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away, locking his eyes on hers. He looked deep into her eyes and she shivered.

"I want you back at my side, on the front. If you rather stay behind, I won't force you but know this…"

He looked up ahead and Carole did the same thing. When she noticed everyone had stopped and was looking at them, she felt a wave of heat wrap around her. They did not seem annoyed or impatient. They all looked understanding and were simply waiting.

"Everyone wants you along, they're not afraid of you. You think they are walking ahead, that's because of the air you're giving off. You're so worried, nobody knows how to deal with that, how to approach you."

The gang smiled at her and she could not help but smile herself. She felt tears of happiness burn her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. Squall placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Stop worrying, okay? Don't be afraid of what's inside of you. You are a sorceress, that can't be denied, but you don't have to be a dangerous sorceress. Rinoa offered to help you; if you have questions or concerns, talk to her."

Carole nodded several times.

"I know, you're right."

She rose, gaining a couple inches in the process and Squall smiled, satisfied. The two walked back towards their friends who moved to the sides to let them pass, smiling at them in the process. Once the couple was standing at their rightful place on the front line, right behind Yuna and her guardians, Kerry also got closer to Carole, smiling at her. Carole simply turned her head to her friends and saw the approving look on their faces.

"Thank you," she said.

"Stop that, let's go!" Rachel urged.

"Yeah, we have a mission to finish!" Zell added pumping his fist.

The female commander nodded and looked at Squall who was smiling comfortingly at her. When he grabbed her hand in his, she felt a strong wave of love towards him. She smiled back, feeling reassured and realizing she was not alone.

Figuring things were taken care of, Yuna and her guardians started moving again, followed by the SeeDs.

Each side of the broken down street were tops of buildings sticking out of the water. Either the water was deeper than first believed, or the top of the buildings were all that was left of them. They encountered more monsters along the way. More Behemoths easily dispatched, monsters called Mandragora that reminded the SeeDs of the Ochu from their world due to their size, and Dark Flans. Huge piles of dark goo resistant to physical attacks. At least until Auron would use his Armor Break ability. Tapping into his reserves of strength, he slashed through the pile of jelly, causing an interesting reaction. The flan turned solid, making the fighters' job a lot simpler. Instead of sticking into the jelly, the blades cut through and caused a lot more damage.

After a long walk, the road ended at the entrance of one of the most well-preserved buildings. It had the shape of a dome, and although the top had collapsed a long time ago, the rest of the structure appeared to be holding on.

Everyone climbed up a small ramp leading inside the building when an old man wearing a long robe walked out of it to meet them, stopping their advance.

"Journeyer of the long road, name yourself," the old man asked.

"I am the summoner Yuna. I have come from the island of Besaid."

The old man walked right in front of Yuna.

"Your eyes, my dear. Show me the long road you have travelled."

Yuna looked up to him. The others waited patiently, wondering what this was about, but figuring he was probably a guardian of the area.

While the others were waiting for the old man to be done, Tidus was overcome with nostalgia. He knew that building and quite well at that. It was once the blitzball stadium where he had played.

"Very good," the old man finally said. "You have journeyed well. Lady Yunalesca will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now, and bring your guardians with you. Go."

The old man passed them and slowly faded away but nobody noticed it because they all went in once he gave them approval. Inside of the dome, the overall structure was intact but wherever the top collapsed, it brought the floor along in its fall.

The air abruptly changed and a ghostly female figure surrounded with pyreflies walked between them without seeing them. She was wearing a green tunic down to her thighs and a helmet was hiding her eyes.

"If it might benefit the future of Spira, I will gladly give my life," she said. "It is the highest honor for which a guardian might ask."

She turned around to another ghostly female figure that appeared right next to Tidus. Rikku crouched down behind the ghost, scared.

"Use my life, Lady Yocun, and rid Spira of Sin," the first ghost continued.

Lady Yocun walked forward and both vanished without a trace. The air seemed to go back to normal as well. Rikku got up and made a few steps forward, looking around nervously.

"What… what was that?"

Squall had felt Carole squeeze his hand harder when the ghosts appeared. He could guess she felt something when they appeared.

Some turned to Auron for an explanation. He was the only one who ever was in the place before and might know what this was about. He was looking away, but he had an explanation.

"Our predecessors," he said simply.

Lulu walked forward.

"She said 'Lady Yocun,' didn't she? Wait! She guarded High Summoner Yocun?"

"This dome is filled with pyreflies," Auron explained. "It's like one gigantic sphere. People's thoughts remain here. Forever."

He walked forward, following a path going down. Everyone followed him except for Squall and his girlfriend once again. She was trembling without control.

"Shut it out, Carole. Don't listen to the voices."

"They're… they're everywhere…"

"I know but they can't hurt you. Come here."

He pulled her close and kissed her. When he released her, she breathed out.

"Wow… they're gone."

Squall smirked.

"Looks like I'm pretty good at this knight thing huh?"

"I chose well," she replied with a smile. "I wouldn't have it any otherwise."

As she started to go after the rest of the group, Squall grabbed her hand and pulled her back to hug her. The gesture surprised her a little, but she welcomed it.

"Don't leave me… Ever…"

She took a worried look, wondering where this came from.

"Squall?"

He held her tighter and she could feel him trembling.

"Hey, being worried is my job," she tried to joke.

"Just because I don't show it, doesn't mean I don't worry too…" he said in a low tone.

He pushed her gently but still held her at arms' length, looking very seriously into her eyes.

"Somehow, I think our link is stronger than the one I had with Rinoa. I could feel things but not that much."

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know. Maybe that you have greater powers, maybe that we simply have a deeper bond than I did with her, I don't know. What I know is I will do anything to protect you."

"I know," she said with a nod and a warm smile.

"Rely on me, ok? We are linked, I share your burden. When things get rough, rely on that, put a little more on me, I can take it."

"Thank you."

He gave her a light kiss again before they both went after the others once more.

The dome was heavily guarded as well. They encountered golems like the one they fought before they went to Gagazet. They also encountered zombified guards clad in warrior monk gear. Those were a little tricky to fight because they could turn others into zombies. The holy waters proved useful once again. They followed a collapsed tunnel and walked back up. They crossed a structure and came upon a ghostly figure of a child with blue hair that looked oddly familiar.

"No!" he cried. "Mother, no! I don't want you to become a fayth!"

A black haired woman arrived behind him and she did not look well.

"There is no other way. Use me and defeat Sin. Only then will the people accept you."

"I don't care about them!" the kid kept crying, his sleeve over his face. "I need you, Mother! No one else!"

"I don't… have much time left."

The two vanished afterwards.

"Hey, wasn't that…?" Wakka started, thoughtful.

"Seymour?" Rikku completed with surprise.

Intrigued, they kept going, meeting more monsters along the way and some machina as well; remnants of the war that once had taken place in the city.

They walked on an unsafe looking structure and a flash blinded them for half a second. Immediately, three ghostly figures came running through them from behind. They all looked familiar. They stopped a little further ahead.

"Ah!" Tidus let out as he recognized them.

"Hey, Braska," Jecht called to the man wearing a long robe ahead of him. "You don't have to do this."

"Thank you for your concern," Braska said turning his head to him.

"Fine," Jecht gave up folding his arms. "I said my piece."

"Well, I haven't!" the younger version of Auron added.

He had long black hair tied in a ponytail and an arm constantly sticking out of his red coat.

"Lord Braska, let us go back! I don't want to see you…die!"

"You knew this was to happen, my friend."

"Yes, but I… I cannot accept it," Auron said looking at the ground.

Braska chuckled, but he was touched.

"Auron, I am honored that you care for me so. But I have come to kill grief itself. I will defeat Sin, and lift the veil of sorrow covering Spira."

He turned around to his friend.

"Please understand, Auron."

Then he turned back around and walked forward, the other two following shortly after him until the three vanished once more.

"This is a little creepy," Kerry said looking around in case there were more ghosts roaming the place.

"They're only memories," Carole reminded her. "They can't interact with us and vice versa."

"I know, but it's still weird."

"I agree," Zell said behind them.

"Let's keep moving," Tidus urged from the front.

He went ahead and the others followed him. They walked through a circular opening in a collapsed piece of wall across the road into the inner building. Inside the building was a hallway filled with more pyreflies hovering in the air and debris were scattered everywhere on the ground. Braska and the other two were just ahead of them, running forward. Hurrying after them, Tidus climbed a set of stairs followed with two more sets to arrive in front of the opening of a hall heading down. The doors were collapsed on each sides of the opening. The trio was standing in front of it too.

"Are the trials ahead?" Jecht inquired folding his arms.

"Probably," Braska answered.

"Here too, huh?" Jecht said folding himself in two, disheartened. "Gimme a break. I was expecting, you know, a parade and… fireworks!"

Braska turned around to face him.

"You can ask for them after I defeat Sin."

He turned back and walked into the hall, followed by the other two before they vanished once again.

The first who entered found themselves in a square room in surprising good shape compared to the rest of the place. Not a single piece of debris anywhere, the walls were intact, the floor was clean. It was almost as if this room was either not touched by the war that occurred in Zanarkand, or the room was made of an entirely different material. Perhaps it was protected by some other means impossible to see with the naked eye.

Tidus looked around, being the first one inside. The room was not dark, but it was still not too bright. On the opposing wall was a screen with images of colourful shapes on it. The floor was covered with square tiles and some of the tiles had a small white dot in the middle of them. The blonde frowned, a hand to his hip. He turned his head to the ones behind him.

"I think we found the trial," he stated in a voice strong enough to be heard by everyone. "The room's not that big though, so if anyone wants to come and check it out, the others wait until it's figured out or they might be in the way."

Auron nodded but remained motionless. Wakka scratched his head and Lulu held her arms in one another. Rikku started rubbing her head in confusion and Kimahri folded his arms by Yuna's side. Behind the guardians, the SeeDs looked at each other. Squall turned to Carole with an idea.

"Hey, you're good at this. Give it a try."

"Oh yeah, you helped solve the one in the temple at Macalania," Rachel reminded.

"Even after Zell screwed it up," Seifer added.

Zell turned to Seifer with eyes wide with surprise. And he was not the only one. Finding himself the center of attention made Seifer uneasy. He frowned nervously.

"Wh…what?"

"You called me Zell…" Zell trailed off as if he was in shock.

"Hey, I can go back to chicken-wuss if you prefer."

"No, no! Zell's fine!"

Squall had a weird grin on his face that Seifer tried to ignore.

"Look at that, Seifer's growing up at last."

"Haha, very funny. I'm a year older than you if you remember."

"Older is not necessarily more mature," Quistis said with a hand to her mouth, covering a smile of amusement.

"Oh come on! Leave me alone!"

When his girlfriend and many of the others started laughing, Seifer could not help but smile either. Cheered up, Carole stepped forward.

"Alright, I'll give it a shot."

As the group moved aside to let her get to the front, Squall got closer to Seifer.

"Thanks for that," he whispered.

"Look, I did not do that for her or you. I only felt like it, but if it helped, then that's fine by me."

The guardians moved aside to let Carole through and when she got to Tidus, he smiled at her.

"I was hoping you'd come check it out. You're good at this."

"Squall said the same thing. Okay, let's see what we've got here…"

She spotted the screen on the other side of the room, the white dots on the floor, and noticed a closed door in the corner, left of the screen. It was easy to figure something had to be done in that room to get that door opened. The girl crouched down in front of one of the tiles and touched the white dot. It made a sound like a note and a group of tiles around the one with the white dot lit up a bright color. Tidus widened his eyes.

"Whoa!"

Carole smiled and rose.

"Ok that's pretty simple. I bet those white dots turn patterns on like that one and we have to light as many as there are shapes on that screen."

"There are more dots than shapes on the screen, though."

"Maybe some are not meant to be touched," she supposed.

She touched another white dot close to the first one and this time, a white square shape was lit accompanied with a dull note. After that, the lights went off.

"It cancelled it," Tidus observed. "If we hit a wrong dot, we have to start over."

"Those who came up with those trials really liked to make people start over."

Carole turned around.

"Be careful not to touch anything until we're done here."

Yuna nodded.

Patiently, Carole and Tidus pressed white dots and watched what they did, taking notes which ones not to touch every time they turned on a wrong one. Eventually, they got all the right shapes lit. The door at the back of the room opened along with six smaller ones. Three on each sides of the room. Six pedestals came out through the side doors. The two arched an eyebrow at the sight.

"I thought we solved it, what are those things?" Tidus asked.

"Let's check through the door," Carole suggested before she turned to the others patiently standing behind. "Stay there just in case."

Tidus walked towards the door and went through it.

"Ah damn!" his disappointed voice sounded from the other side.

"What's wrong?" Carole asked hurrying towards the door.

When she got to the other side, she stopped before she would bump into Tidus standing there. It was another room looking pretty much like the one they just left, but a lot larger. A whole lot. In the middle of the room was a large hole with six small circles around it at equal distance from one another. The floor was covered with more white dots, scattered randomly.

"I guess we're not done yet," Carole trailed off.

There was a screen on the wall once more but there was nothing on that one. Although this one had a sphere on each side of it. One seemed to be powering up the screen but what the other one was for was a mystery.

"What now? How do we know which ones to light?"

"Hey maybe the pedestals in the other room have something to do with it. Stay here and tell me if something happens."

"Okay."

Carole ran back to the first room, stared at by the ones in the entrance who could see her.

"What's going on?" Lulu inquired.

"The trial continues on the other side," Carole explained. "We're not done yet."

She checked the pedestal closest to her and studied it a little. The guardians waited patiently and quietly.

Curious, Carole pushed on the pedestal and it slid inside the wall, startling her a little.

"Hey something happened!" Tidus called from the next room.

Carole quickly went back to the next room and Tidus pointed the screen to her.

"A pattern showed up. What did you do?"

"I pushed a pedestal and it slid into the wall. That gives us something to start with now. Let's get to work."

Once again, they tried hitting various white dots to see what each did and eventually got all the proper shapes lit up. Once they were, a glyph appeared on one of the circles around the central hole and what looked like a layer of a barrier over the hole was lifted. Feeling confident, Carole ran back to the first room and smiled at the others.

"We're getting somewhere, this shouldn't take much longer."

"Take your time," Yuna said with a warm smile.

Carole checked the middle pedestal and tried to push it. Nothing happened. Arching an eyebrow with curiosity, she went for the third one and this one slid into the wall. Immediately she ran into the next room to find Tidus already working on lighting the shapes to match the new pattern on the screen. Once they got it, a different glyph appeared on one of the five circles left and once again it looked as though a layer of light was taken off the hole. Carole returned to the first room and tried the middle pedestal again, but it still refused to move, so she went for the first one on the other side. When it slid into the wall, she hurried to Tidus again to help him light the proper pattern, getting another glyph to light up around the hole, taking yet another layer of barrier off it. Back into the first room, the middle pedestal on the other side also refused to move so Carole pushed the last one in successfully and returned to the next room to activate the proper tiles, once again with the same result.

"Okay, that does it for the pedestals, the other two won't move," Carole informed Tidus.

"Then how do we get the other two circles to light up?"

"There must be a way to get those pedestals into the wall too," she supposed, thoughtful.

Tidus looked around and got an idea.

"Say, did you notice if those pedestals had a slot in them?"

"I'm not sure, why?"

"In some temples, we had to put spheres in pedestals to get a result."

"Ah right, like in Macalania, I remember."

She turned to the screen and the two spheres each side of it. She got there, Tidus close behind.

"Let's see…"

Carole grabbed the sphere on the left of the screen and all of a sudden, the room was plunged into darkness.

"What the hell!?" Zell's voice resonated from the first room.

"I think this was the power," Carole said with a giggle.

The lights were off, but it was not complete darkness yet. They could still see. Then she grabbed the other one and this time, the screen went off.

"Try putting them in the pedestals."

"Ok, tell me if anything happens."

She hurried back.

"Is everything alright back there?" Veronique inquired.

"Yeah, I think we're done after this."

She found a slot on the top front of the pedestal as Tidus suspected and put one sphere into the left one. She had a triumphant smile when it slid into the wall. Confident this was over, she put the other sphere in the other pedestal and it also slid easily into the wall. Immediately, the floor turned a bright blinding white and the screen was now showing seven white squares. Some sort of data written in red was climbing the screen over the white squares. Before anyone could have been curious about that, Tidus' voice called them.

"Come here, quick! I think that's it!"

This time, everyone ran through the room to get into the next one. The six circles around the hole lit up one at a time, ringing one or two notes each. Put together, these notes were making the Hymn. Everyone got closer to the hole to check it out, spreading around it and at that moment, an incredible light suddenly gushed out of the hole, surprising more than a few of those around it. A monster came up from inside it. It had two long arms with sharp blades at the ends. The body itself was like a very long tail and two small wings seemed to be enough to keep it hovering over the hole. The thing was huge and its presence alone seemed to affect the ground itself around it, making the whole room literally disappear! Only the monster was left along with the six circles around it with some of the group standing on them. Twelve of them found themselves on the circles, two on each one while the others were nowhere to be seen as if they vanished. The remaining ones first took a look around themselves trying to figure out what happened.

"What the hell!?" Zell exclaimed.

He ended up sharing a circle with Veronique.

"Where did everybody else go?" Rikku wondered on another circle she shared with Adam.

While almost half their group was missing, the monster was still very much there.

"Take care of the monster first," Carole advised mentally counting who was there and who was missing.

She was on a circle with Seifer and she spotted Kerry on another one with Kimahri. The other two were occupied by Tidus with Yuna, and Lulu with Wakka.

"I agree," Tidus said taking Brotherhood in hands.

The monster was hovering up and down, using its small wings to remain in the middle of the circles, protecting the access to the lower level. The twelve people around it took their weapons out and stood ready, but they had limited space sharing the circle with a friend.

"Get the hell away from me," Zell growled with a frown at Veronique.

"Hey, not like I chose to end up here, you know. Do you hate me that much?" she asked with a playful smile.

Zell rolled his eyes but Veronique missed it when she turned to the monster.

"Let's see…"

She took off and smiled realizing she was not forced to remain on the circle.

"I'll try to distract it, you guys focus on beating the shit out of it!"

Everyone nodded. Kimahri, holding his spear in both hands, turned his head slightly at Kerry close to him.

"Kimahri protect Kerry."

"Thank you, Kimahri. I'll do my best too."

Wakka got in front of Lulu.

"I'll fight and watch while you cast spells, ya?"

Lulu nodded approvingly. On his side, Tidus also placed himself in front of Yuna to act as her protector. She tightened her grip on her staff, ready to cast healing spells whenever necessary. Being a range fighter, Adam stood behind Rikku who decided to be his shield while he would aim and shoot. Since the monster was not moving around much at all, he did not have to aim that long before letting an arrow go. On their own circle, Seifer and Carole were a little awkward. Both being gunblade users, they needed more room to be able to fight properly. Then Seifer made a decision.

"You think you could use magic?" he asked her although never letting his eyes off the enemy.

Carole frowned, uncertain.

"I…" she started in a nervous tone.

Seifer turned his head to her and surprised her with a comforting look.

"I'll watch over you, okay? I'm not Squall, but I'll be… your knight for this fight."

His words touched her and it showed. A smile appeared on her face.

"I'll try it, then. Thanks, Seifer."

"Don't mention it."

He turned back towards the monster, his gunblade held in one hand pointing forward while Carole put hers away. Her heart was racing at the mere thought of using magic, but she decided to rely on Seifer for the moment.

Alone on his circle, Zell was free to hop around and swing his fists and feet to his heart's content without risking hurting anyone other than the monster.

The circles around the monster were disposed in a hexagonal shape. Three were mostly behind the monster while the other three were facing it.

Veronique was flying around the monster's head, cracking her whip at it every now and then and taunting it in the process to keep its attention on her.

"Catch me if you can! Come on!"

Behind the monster, Adam shot an arrow and hit the monster's back easily. The creature let out a sound that was hard to identify as being either from pain or anger. It slightly moved its upper body backwards and stretched out its bladed arms, slashing the three circles in front of it along with the people standing on them: Seifer, Carole, Kimahri, Kerry, Tidus and Yuna. The ones standing as the other's defence took the hardest hits and all moaned in pain.

"Oh no!" Rikku exclaimed from behind the monster.

"You guys alright?" Zell inquired with concern.

Yuna quickly healed Tidus while Kerry gave Kimahri a potion she was carrying and Carole placed a hand over Seifer's arm to heal him as well. Once that was taken care of, Tidus raised a thumb with a smile.

"We're fine!"

Yuna cast a Protect spell on Tidus and was ready to start casting some on the others as well when Carole interrupted her.

"Wait, let me try something…"

She closed her eyes and concentrated. Veronique figured out what she was going for so she doubled her efforts at getting the monster's attention to give her time to prepare. Seifer looked at his comrade with a curious look on his face, wondering what she had in mind when she started glowing slightly. The fallen knight recognized the energy as being sorceress magic. Carole spread her arms and the light spread from her to everyone around the monster, wrapping them in a thin protective magic shell.

"Whoa, what's that?" Zell asked, impressed.

Carole breathed out and blinked a few times. Seifer frowned and blinked as well when he thought he saw her eyes were red, but then they looked brown again.

"I hope it's good enough. I tried to reproduce the barrier I put up during Operation Mi'ihen, but in individual sizes."

"Feels good to me!" Veronique exclaimed. "Good job! You're coming along nicely!" she complimented with a wink.

The rookie sorceress nodded, appreciating the cheering and started focusing again.

Kimahri went in for an attack which caused the monster to slash at the three circles in front of it again. This time though, when the blades slashed, a light seemed to absorb the impact on everyone they touched. Everyone widened their eyes in amazement.

"Oh wow, this is so cool!" Tidus exclaimed.

"Yeah, I barely felt anything," Seifer added turning to Carole. "You're strong!"

She blushed a little. She was not expecting it to be so effective, she was still trying to get the hang of it. She had no idea of what she could and could not do yet, she was still figuring out her possibilities.

"Let's kill that thing!" Zell called, raising everyone's spirits.

Rikku started throwing grenades at the monster while Adam kept firing arrow after arrow. Wakka threw his ball and Lulu cast her spells. Zell punched and kicked while Kimahri, Seifer and Tidus slashed. Yuna stood on guard, ready to heal anyone who might need it, but Carole's barrier seemed good enough to absorb almost all the damage the monster attempted to do with each slash. It was counter-attacking every time it got hit, so everyone was thankful for the barrier.

Apparently, the monster got tired of hitting thin air every time it slashed ahead of itself and decided to turn around and target the other three, unaware that they were also protected with the barrier. After a few attacks, just as unsuccessful, it got mad. It glowed a little and immediately, two of the six circles started blinking under their occupants' feet.

"I don't like the look of this!" Rikku exclaimed with fear as she started jumping from one foot to the other as if the ground was burning.

Adam and she were one of the duos to end up on the blinking circles. The other duo was Kerry and Kimahri.

"The blinking reminds me of a countdown," Seifer said with a frown.

"It's gonna blow!?" Tidus asked with wide opened eyes.

"Get outta there!" Zell advised.

"Where do you suggest they go?" Lulu asked, just as concerned. "We are all stuck here."

The luckier ones were staring at their powerless friends, hearts racing in their chest. Kimahri suddenly grabbed Kerry and put her up on his shoulders, startling her.

"Kimahri?"

"Kimahri protect Kerry. Maybe far enough to be safe."

"I hope your barrier can take that…" Seifer said in a low voice.

"I didn't even know if it would work when I tried putting it up or how effective it would be… Oh Hyne…"

The second the glyphs turned red, the four people standing on them suddenly vanished. An explosion occurred on the two circles and when it died out, the four appeared back on them, unharmed.

"What the hell?" Zell exclaimed.

Carole turned to Veronique right away. She was showing a proud smile.

"Apparently this place is not letting us leave as long as that thing is there, but that doesn't mean we can't dematerialize for a second or two," she explained with another playful wink.

"You did this?" Adam asked, doubtful.

"Yup."

"Thank you!" Kerry said as Kimahri gently put her back on her feet. "You too, Kimahri."

The Ronso simply nodded and turned to the monster again. He slashed at it and once again, the monster slashed ahead of itself. While the blades bounced off the barrier on Lulu, Wakka, Tidus and Yuna, it caused Rikku and Adam some pain.

"Oww!"

"Hey, we don't have the barrier anymore!" Adam noticed.

Carole turned to Kerry and Kimahri and noticed that they were not glowing anymore either. Looking for an explanation, she looked up towards Veronique still hovering around the monster's head. She scratched the back of her head.

"Ah, I guess my teleporting them cancelled the barrier," she supposed. "Sorry about that, I didn't know."

"Sorceress' magic cancelling each other out?" Zell wondered.

"Veronique is not exactly a sorceress like the ones we know," Seifer reminded him.

"But then again, neither am I…" Carole started.

"It doesn't matter," Seifer assured as he slashed the monster and pulled the trigger in the process for more damage.

The monster counter-attacked once again, giving Yuna some work to do with healing Rikku and Adam. The temple guardian suddenly leant a little forward and swung its tail upwards behind itself, slashing it across Kimahri. It was more like a whiplash than a slash and did not cause that much damage but it triggered a change in Kimahri. His face started twisting with madness and turned red. Eventually, his whole body emanated a red aura.

"Kimahri?" Kerry called him.

He did not seem to pay her any attention or even hear her. He attacked again with even more strength.

"He's berserk!" Lulu told. "The hit from the tail made him go berserk!"

"Kerry, do you have a remedy on you?" Carole asked her.

The younger one shook her head, obviously regretting the fact.

"Allow me," Yuna interrupted.

She cast an Esuna spell, causing Kimahri to settle down immediately. He looked around as if to remember what happened, before turning to Yuna, nodding at her.

"Being berserk is not so bad, it's not like when you're confused and can attack your team mates, but you get more violent and think nothing except killing the enemy," Lulu explained.

"Let's watch that tail then, huh?" Seifer asked turning his head to Carole. "We don't need people to go berserk and start attacking without caring that others will get counter-attacked for it."

He frowned when he saw her face. Her face had turned white and she was slightly trembling. The blond got worried right away.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked putting a hand on her arm.

"The tail… it can turn berserk…" she said in a low tone.

Seifer figured out what she was afraid of. He recalled Veronique's warning about a risk of Carole going berserk if she had no control of her powers. He understood she was afraid that this would trigger it. Without a word, Seifer turned back to face the monster, swearing to himself he would not let that happen while he was there.

Yuna decided to cast protect on those who lost the barrier as it appeared Carole was not going to renew it herself. Eventually, three more glyphs started glowing. This time, it was the one with Zell on it, the one with Tidus and Yuna, and the one with Rikku and Adam again.

"Just great… leave us alone!"

"Don't worry, I got you covered!" Veronique assured.

Once again, the second the glyphs glowed red, the ones standing on them vanished and came back once the explosion settled. Tidus, Yuna and Zell were now without the effect of the barrier as well.

The monster decided to turn to the side and face Zell, Lulu and Wakka, and Rikku and Adam. Right behind it were Carole and Seifer.

"Shit…" Seifer let out as he realized his comrade started shaking a little more.

Yuna cast more protect spells to make up for the lost barrier, but she was running low on energy. This fight had to end.

Wakka threw his ball and got the same reaction, giving Yuna more healing to do. Rikku took out an Al Bhed potion in an attempt to give her a hand, decently healing everyone around her.

The monster leant forward and slashed its tail upwards behind itself. Carole widened her eyes in horror just before Seifer blocked her completely with his own body, taking the hit to himself. He gritted his teeth with the pain only an instant before he started radiating with strength. His eyes showed nothing but a thirst to fight. Carole slightly opened her mouth in surprise as she stared at him while he turned around to attack the monster.

"Seifer…"

She shook her head strongly to clear it and settled down. Seifer attacked again, thus earning the ones in front of the monster another slash. The sorceress decided to rely on good old remedy potion, using it on Seifer. He went back to normal and nodded at her approvingly. He got ready to return to the fight with the others but Carole stopped him, grabbing his arm.

"Thanks for that…" she said.

"Hey, I told you I'd be your knight for this fight. What kind of a knight would I be if I would let you get hurt now?"

She bit back an apology and nodded. Seifer grinned and attacked again.

The fighters kept biting the pain back when they got slashed, healed by their comrades as it went on. The monster started to show signs of weariness at last, giving the fighters a boost of energy, urging to bring this fight to an end.

"Just a little more!" Tidus encouraged them.

Lulu was running short on magic as well, but Carole was still holding on. Even though her magic was powerful, she was holding back, afraid to trigger something if she would dare to let loose.

The healing started coming in too slowly to make up for the counter-attacks and the fighters also started showing signs of weariness.

"We could sure use Squall right about now," Zell commented trying to keep his fists high.

"We don't need him," Seifer responded. "We have enough skilled fighters here to take care of this!"

Right behind him, Carole detected a note of jealousy, but also determination. Seifer was living in Squall's shadow for years and even though everyone welcomed him back after the Ultimecia incident, he was still trying to redeem himself.

He dropped on a knee and Carole got ready to heal him but he waved his arm out to stop her.

"Wait…"

He closed his eyes and gave off a red aura, bringing a smile to Carole's face. She never saw him use Fire Cross before.

"Demon Slice!!!"

Seifer got up and pointed his hand towards the monster. Fire energy started gathering around his hand for a moment then he unleashed it at the enemy, causing it major fire damage. He suddenly took on a calm demeanour, daftly swinging the blade around, his Hyperion now glowing with a green aura. All of the sudden, he started spinning around, causing Carole to jump back. He moved forward like a tornado on the loose, towards the monster, a vortex of grey, black and green, with a razor-sharp blade in the middle. The gunblader was emanating so much energy he almost looked like a real tornado. He reached the monster, slashing it, one, two, three, four times and just keeping at it, leaving a green trail behind the blade, tainted with the monster's blood. The slashes were so vehement; it caused the monster to lift from its hovering position. Seifer followed, still spinning and slashing it. Until he suddenly stopped, and, using the monster as a springboard, leapt back to stand with Carole again. The monster fell downwards, trembling violently and giving off small explosions all over its body. Unable to keep itself in the air anymore, it continued to fall down the hole into a large quantity of pyreflies. The surroundings returned to normal and the fighters found themselves back in the square trial room.

"Guys!" Rachel exclaimed as she saw them suddenly reappear on the glyphs. "Zell!"

She ran to him and he scratched the back of his head as he gave her a sorry look. They all walked away from the circles and were immediately assaulted by the ones wondering what happened.

Exhausted, Seifer dropped to a knee, his gunblade stuck into the ground as he tried to lean on it. Carole got closer to him to check on him, immediately joined by Audrey and Squall.

"Hehe…" Seifer trailed off. "See? We didn't need him."

"You did great, Seifer," Carole assured him as she placed a hand on his arm.

He felt her recovering power run through him right away. Refreshed, he got back up and sheathed his gunblade just in time before Audrey hugged him. While he rubbed her back, assuring her he was fine, he turned his head to Squall who went for Carole to inquire her state.

"I'm okay. I froze a moment, but Seifer really came through for me."

"I knew he would," Squall admitted turning a thankful look to Seifer.

The attention seemed to embarrass the blond as he looked away.

"Bah, I was there, might as well make myself useful."

"If I ever find myself short of a knight again, I'll ask you," Carole said with a playful smile.

"Uh sure…"

Squall arched an eyebrow with curiosity.

"Huh?"

"He offered himself to me as a temporary replacement knight. And he handled it well in my opinion."

Squall nodded approvingly.

Yuna and her guardians joined with Auron who simply nodded in approval as well, pleased that they handled this fight on their own.

While the wounded tended to their wounds with help from their friends who wanted to know what happened, the Hymn started resonating through the walls and the six glyphs glowed. The six moved out of their circle and gathered in the middle, right over the hole. When they merged, they formed a whole new glyph and a small platform appeared.

"Yuna… We're here," Auron said.

The summoner turned to him.

"The hall of the Final Summoning."

"Go."

"Yes," she said with a bow.

She stepped on the platform and it headed down.

"She's going there alone?" Kerry inquired back to Carole's side.

Auron nodded without another word. The cadet looked at her mentor who shrugged, clueless.

Yuna got down and was greeted with a familiar voice.

"Huh? What do you mean no Final Aeon?" Jecht's voice sounded.

What she found got her so surprised she hurried back up to the others. When they saw her show up on the platform, troubled, those who sat down for a little rest quickly got up.

"Sir Auron!" she called. "Everyone!"

She sounded so troubled her guardians quickly joined her on the platform, but it was too small to hold more people, so the others waited for them to get down and the platform to come back. The SeeDs split in two groups to get down the hole as well, and find out what got Yuna so worked up.

_A/N: I used to write chapters, have my boyfriend read them and check for typos or mistakes, then post them but with this chapter, I took a different approach. I wrote it, showed it to my boyfriend who did not change anything,__ and then I sent it to my friend Ric Leonhart who pointed out many things ____ Ric, thank you so much for your assistance. We met thanks to me writing this story and now you're contributing to it! This is so great! Thank you so much!_


	31. Chapter 30: The fire within

**Chapter 30: The fire within**

Down the hole was the opening of a small tunnel. The place really contrasted with the upper room they just left. It was dark, damp, and broken down.

The tunnel led into a small circular room with a glass dome covering a statue on the center of the floor. It was just like in the other temples, but something was off. It was blinking weakly.

Yuna was crouched down on the back of the room over the dome and Rikku was doing the same thing on the left. The room was not large enough to allow everyone in so only a few of the SeeDs joined the guardians while the others remained in the tunnel, trying to see over each other's head or shoulders what the commotion was about.

"This isn't a fayth," Yuna told. "It's just an empty statue."

The wall behind her suddenly faded, revealing a passageway made of blue light and an old man came walking through. He looked like the one who greeted them when they arrived in Zanarkand. He was surrounded with pyreflies.

"That statue lost its power as a fayth long ago," the old man explained.

Yuna got up and turned to him. Everyone was looking at him, waiting for a further explanation.

"It is Lord Zaon," the man revealed. "The first fayth of the Final Summoning. What you see before you is all that remains of him, Lord Zaon in… his soul his gone."

"Gone!?" Wakka exclaimed in shock.

"You mean, there is no Final Aeon?" Rikku asked getting up.

"What, we came here for nothing?" Zell asked from the tunnel.

"Shush," Squall demanded.

"But fear not," the old man continued. "Lady Yunalesca will show you the path, the Final Aeon will be yours. The summoner and the Final Aeon will join powers."

He started to pray as he began to fade.

"Go to her now. Inside, the lady awaits."

Yuna headed towards the passage to go through, still as determined as ever when Tidus stopped her.

"Yuna, wait!" he called folding his arms before turning to Auron standing next to Yuna. "Auron, you knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

Everyone turned to him as well, recalling that he went through this pilgrimage with Yuna's father.

"Yes," he answered.

"Why didn't you tell us!?" Rikku asked accusingly.

Auron stepped forward, aware of the gazes upon him. He looked even more serious than usual if possible.

"If I had told you the truth, would that really have stopped you from coming?"

"Yuna," Kimahri called as he turned to her.

She lowered her head.

"I'm not going back," she warned.

"Kimahri knows."

He walked to her side.

"Kimahri goes first. Yuna is safe. Kimahri protect."

He walked in with Yuna and the others quickly followed.

"I don't like this," Squall said.

Carole remained silent but she was thinking the same thing. Her heart was beating a little faster than it had to.

They found themselves in a much larger room with a high ceiling. Compared to the previous room and the tunnel, it was in pretty good shape. There was a staircase on the other end of the room heading up to a door. Pyreflies were flying up in the air around the room.

"Someone's coming!" Rikku suddenly said as the sound of a door was heard.

"Lady Yunalesca," Yuna said.

The woman with long hair they saw in that projection Seymour showed them in Guadosalam came through the door up the stairs. She stopped on top of it.

"Welcome to Zanarkand," she greeted them. "I congratulate you, summoner. You have completed your pilgrimage. I will now bestow you with that which you seek."

She raised an arm to the side as if she was offering something. She was clearly an unsent.

"The Final Summoning…" she said raising her other arm. "Will be yours."

She moved a hand in front of her, pointing at the group spread out under her.

"Now, choose."

Yuna was not sure to understand and she was not the only one. It must have been easy to see they were clueless since Yunalesca explained.

"You must choose the one whom I will change," she explained as she came down the stairs. "To become the fayth of the Final Summoning."

Everyone choked, in shock.

"What!?" some exclaimed with wide eyes.

"There must be a bond," Yunalesca continued. "Between chosen and summoner, for that is what the Final Summoning embodies: the bond between husband and wife, mother and child, or between friends. If that bond is strong enough, its light will conquer Sin. A thousand years ago, I chose my husband Zaon as my fayth."

Behind Yuna, Tidus frowned with arms folded.

"Our bond was true," Yunalesca kept telling. "And I obtained the Final Aeon. There is nothing to fear. You will soon be freed of worry and pain. For once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end. Death is the ultimate and final liberation. Your father, Braska, chose this path."

A bright light flashed and Yunalesca walked back through the door to where she came from, out of sight. Braska was now standing at the stairs' feet, Auron behind him and Jecht a little further behind.

"It is not too late!" Auron attempted to convince Braska once more. "Let us turn back!"

"If I turn back, who will defeat Sin?" Braska asked looking at him. "Would you have some other summoner and his guardians go through this?"

"But… my lord, there must be another way!"

"This is the only way we got now!" Jecht cut in.

He placed his fists on his hips.

"Fine. Make me the Fayth," he demanded folding his arms again. "I been doing some thinking. My dream is back in the other Zanarkand."

He looked at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

"I wanted to make that runt into a star blitz player. Show him the view from the top, you know. But now I know there's no way home for me. I'm never going to see him again. My dream's never gonna come true. So make me the fayth. I'll fight Sin with you, Braska. Then maybe my life will have meaning, you know."

"Don't do this, Jecht!" Auron objected. "If you live there may be another way! We'll think of something, I know!"

"Jecht," Braska said getting in front of his friend.

"What! You're not gonna try to stop me, too?"

"Sorry. I mean… thank you."

"Braska still has to fight Sin, Auron," Jecht said placing a hand on Braska's shoulder.

He took his hand off Braska and walked ahead to place himself next to Auron. He folded his arms.

"Guard him well. Make sure he gets there."

Auron lowered his head, unable to say anything.

"Well, let's go," Jecht urged.

He walked forward and Braska followed him. Auron turned around.

"Lord Braska! Jecht!"

"What do you want now?" Jecht asked in an annoyed tone stopping in the middle of the stairs.

"Sin always comes back," Auron told. "It comes back after the Calm every time! The cycle will continue and your deaths will mean nothing!"

Braska turned around to face Auron.

"But there's always a chance it won't come back this time. It's worth trying."

"I understand what you're saying, Auron," Jecht assured him. "I'll find a way to break the cycle."

"You have a plan?" Auron asked, hopeful.

"Jecht?" Braska asked as well.

"Trust me, I'll think of something."

After this, he burst into laughter and they vanished. Auron was left alone and he fell to his knees with his eyes closed in despair. The older Auron arrived behind his younger counterpart. Sword in hand, he started slashing violently at him with cries of rage. But of course, the blade cut through nothing but air.

"And the cycle went on," he completed once he calmed down.

"We'll break it!" Tidus assured behind him.

"But how?" Wakka wondered. "What, you got a plan now?"

The SeeDs felt out of place. They knew the pilgrimages, the Final Summoning had been tradition for a thousand years and the fact that it was even more than that disturbed them all. Their life suddenly looked a lot simpler than some first thought.

Lulu stepped forward, looking at Yuna who was keeping her head down, lost.

"If one of us has to become a fayth…" she started. "I volunteer."

"Me too, Yuna!" Wakka added.

"Come on, what good running to death is gonna do!?" Dave exclaimed, annoyed with this.

"That still won't change anything, you know?" Tidus added "You'd bring the Calm, and then what? That won't break the cycle!"

"Listen," Wakka said. "You wanna defeat Sin and keep Yuna alive… You don't want Sin to come back, ya? This is just not gonna happen, brudda, you know?"

"If you want everything, you'll end up with nothing," Lulu said wisely.

"But I want everything!" Tidus exclaimed, refusing to give in.

"Now you're being childish!" Wakka scolded him.

"I give up. So what would an adult do, then? They know they can just throw away a summoner, then they can do whatever they like. You're right, I might not even have a chance. But no way am I gonna just stand here and let Yuna go! And what Auron said about there being a way, I think it's true."

"You'll think of something?" Rikku quoted.

"Yes. I'll go ask Yunalesca. She's got to know something."

"You really think she'll help you?" Rikku asked doubtfully.

"I don't know, but I have to try. This is my story. It'll go the way I want it… or I'll end it here!"

The SeeDs all raised a fist in approval and some even let out a cheerful yell.

"Wait," Yuna cut in. "You say it's your story, but it's my story too, you know? It would be so easy to let my fate just carry me away, following the same path my whole life through… But I know I can't. What I do, I do… with no regrets."

She walked towards the stairs and everyone followed her. Through the door, they climbed a small set of stone stairs and found themselves in a very strange environment. So strange it was in fact impossible. It was a stone floor with a large circular glyph of light in the middle, but there were no walls anywhere. A night sky was visible over their heads with millions of stars shining. Some pieces of rocks were floating around the place. It was a wonder how that platform was even hanging there.

"What the hell is this place?" Zell asked in a low tone looking around him.

Rinoa found the place slightly familiar and she turned her head to Squall, pretty sure he would too. The unrealistic look of this place reminded both of them of the aftermath of the battle against Ultimecia, when Squall got lost in time and ended up on a rock floating in the middle of nowhere.

"This feels about just as unreal as Yunalesca," Rinoa stated.

"Pretty much, yeah," Veronique confirmed.

Yunalesca came up from a set of stairs at the other end of the platform and stopped at the top, interrupting.

"Have you chosen the one to become your fayth?" she asked casually. "Who will it be?"

"Might I ask something first?" Yuna demanded. "Will Sin come back even should I use the Final Summoning to defeat it?"

"Sin is eternal," Yunalesca explained. "Every Aeon that defeats it becomes Sin in its place… And thus is Sin reborn."

"So that's why Jecht became Sin," Tidus figured folding his arms.

"Sin is an inevitable part of Spira's destiny," the unsent added raising one arm, then the other one. "It is neverending."

"Neverending?" Wakka asked. "But… but… if we atone for our crimes, Sin will stop coming back, ya? Someday it'll be gone, ya?"

"Will humanity ever attain such purity?" Yunalesca asked, clearly doubting it herself.

Lost and desperate, Wakka turned to Lulu.

"This… this cannot be!" the black mage exclaimed, stepping forward. "The teachings state that we can exorcise Sin with complete atonement! It's been our only hope all these years!"

"Hope is… comforting," Yunalesca said as she walked towards them. "It allows us to accept fate, however tragic it might be."

"No!" Tidus screamed running forward with sword in hand.

At the very same time, the ghostly younger version of Auron did the exact same thing, stopping Tidus dead in his tracks.

"Where is the sense in all this?" Auron asked. "Braska believed in Yevon's teachings and died for them! Jecht believed in Braska and gave his life for him!"

"They chose to die… because they had hope."

Auron screamed in rage and sorrow and ran towards Yunalesca, raising his sword. He jumped and brought it down but before the blade could touch her, Yunalesca raised an arm and a bright light sent Auron flying. The force caused him to lose grip on his sword.

"Yevon's teachings and the Final Summoning give the people of Spira hope. Without hope, they would drown in their sorrow."

She looked back at Yuna.

"Now, choose. Who will be your fayth? Who will be the one to renew Spira's hope?"

There was a moment of silence, heavy with anticipation. Then Yuna finally spoke.

"No one," she decided. "I would have gladly died. I live for the people of Spira, and would have gladly died for them. But no more! The Final Summoning is a false tradition that should be thrown away."

"No," Yunalesca objected. "It is our only hope. Your father sacrificed himself to give that hope to the people. So they would forget sorrow."

"Wrong. My father… my father wanted to make Spira's sorrow go away. Not just cover it up with lies!"

"Sorrow cannot be abolished. It is meaningless to try," the unsent stated looking away.

"My father… I loved him. So I, I will live with my sorrow, I will live my own life! I will defeat sorrow in his place. I will stand my ground and be strong. I don't know when it will be but someday, I will conquer it. And I will do it without… false hope."

"Poor creature," Yunalesca said with disappointment. "You would throw away hope. Well… I will free you before you can drown in your sorrow. It is better for you to die in hope than to live in despair. Let me be your liberator."

"Now!" Auron exclaimed. "This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!"

"Yuna needs Kimahri," the Ronso said with spear in hand, ready for battle. "Kimahri protect Yuna."

"Well, I'm fighting!" Rikku exclaimed with a fist in the air.

"I can't believe we're gonna fight Lady Yunalesca!" Wakka said in bewilderment, overwhelmed with everything that happened. "Gimme a break!"

"You can always run," Lulu suggested.

"Hah! I'd never forgive myself – no way! Not if I ran away now. Even in death, ya!"

"My thoughts exactly," Lulu agreed with a smile.

The SeeDs also smiled as they took out their own weapons. This was something big and they were all thrilled to be a part of it. Change the thousand year old tradition and help put an end to Spira's sorrow for good!

"Yuna!" Tidus called. "This is our story! Now let's see this thing through together!"

Yuna nodded, determination showing on her face. She always followed the path of the summoner as stated by the teachings, but she did not believe in it anymore. She was choosing her own path.

Yunalesca was not to be underestimated. She was the first one to defeat Sin and she had a thousand years of experience behind her. The thought even crossed the mind of a few that they were surely not the first ones to try this different approach. Seeing how Yunalesca did not seem surprised that they would defy the tradition, it proved they were right. If that was the case, then the fact that she was still there showed that their predecessors failed. They would make sure that they would not.

She slightly changed shape. She had a lot more hair going down her back all the way to the ground and it looked strong enough to lift her weight.

Ready for revenge, Auron attacked first, followed in by Tidus and Kimahri. The attacks did not seem to bother the woman, but after each one, she raised a hand and something happened to those who attacked her.

"Ugh, I can't see!" Tidus exclaimed.

"Don't move!" Yuna asked him hurrying to his side.

She looked at his face and saw a black veil covering his eyes. Yunalesca blinded him along with Auron and Kimahri.

"I can heal you," she assured.

She cast the esuna spell on each of them and removed the blindness.

"Save your magic, Yuna," Rinoa advised. "I'll take care of this for now."

She started casting protect spells on the blade fighters while the range ones stood on the back line as usual not to be in the way.

The SeeD leader ran in and slashed with all his strength, pulling the trigger on contact. Yunalesca countered his attack by making him blind as well. Without a word, Carole got close to him, placed a hand on his arm and he recovered right away.

"That is very useful, you know," he told her with a smile once he was able to see her face again. "But you don't have to run to me to do that. With Lion Heart, I rely on my instincts, even blinded I never miss."

"He's right," Quistis confirmed. "Every time that happened, I never saw him miss."

"Not that I don't appreciate it," Squall quickly added. "But if someone else needs it, focus on them first, okay?"

"Alright," Carole said with a nod.

Everyone fought hard, never letting their guard down. Yunalesca had her hands full dealing with that many people, but she did not show any concern at all. She raised a hand and brought it down as if she slashed the air in front of her and Selphie felt some pain and a small clashing sound echoed in the place. By attacking her, Yunalesca removed her protection.

"Hey!" Selphie complained.

Rinoa put it back on right away just before she fired her weapon at Yunalesca.

With force receiving damage, Yunalesca got annoyed and closed her eyes, facing Kimahri who was coming closer to attack her. A light was absorbed from his body and went into her. She just absorbed part of his life force.

"Kimahri!" Yuna exclaimed.

She healed him right away.

"Ah great…" Dave trailed off. "If she absorbs our energy, this could go on forever!"

"We'll have to finish her off fast then!" Squall solved.

"Easier said than done," Seifer added although he agreed with him.

Everyone with a melee weapon in hand looked at each other and nodded. They all ran towards Yunalesca at the same time. They were hoping that dealing enough damage in one blow would prevent her from being able to absorb someone's energy. And they thought right. The concentrated attack brought her down, but not for good just yet. She pushed herself off the ground, large red tentacles sprouted from under her, lifting her up and her hair suddenly looked much longer. She was ten feet over the ground and her hair was reaching the ground, although it did not look much like hair anymore.

Before anyone could get back from the surprise this change caused, tentacles broke through the ground right in front of some of the fighters and small mouths at the end of each of them bit some of the fighters before they withdrew back into the ground. The ones they touched, namely Auron, Zell, Tidus, Kerry and Rachel all turned a disgusting shade of green. After that, Yunalesca raised a hand and cast regen on Auron. Now that he was turned into a zombie, the regen spell had the opposite effect. Normally, the spell would heal a person over time, but to a zombie, it would cause damage to the same extent it would heal a living being.

"Eww, not zombified again," Rachel complained in a hoarse tone.

"Ugh…" Auron moaned from time to time under the effects of the regen.

"Quistis, got more holy water?" Squall asked her.

"Yes!" she answered taking a small bottle out.

She tossed it to him and he used it on Auron. The green shade of his skin faded and the regen spell, still in effect, started healing the damage it caused while he was a zombie. The other four were quickly taken care of before Yunalesca would have a chance to do the same to them.

Annoyed that her own attacks turned to her enemies' advantage, she attacked Quistis, thinking she was probably the only one carrying those items that healed zombies and hoping to bring her down so she would not interfere anymore. Quistis braced herself, but before she would get hit, Dave jumped in front of her, covering her with his katana held in front of him.

"Thank you," she told him.

He gave her a warm smile and ran back to the fight.

Every now and then, the tentacles sprouted again and turned anyone close enough to them into zombies. Whenever they were not quick enough to remove the effects, Yunalesca cast regen on someone zombified. It was quite painful.

Hovering over Yunalesca's head, Veronique was safe from that, but not from her normal attacks. Although her shield was effective enough against them.

"You like to make zombies, huh? Try that!" Rachel exclaimed.

She cast a holy spell and judging from the look on Yunalesca's face, it looked pretty effective.

"Oh duh!" Dave exclaimed.

He did the same thing and Rinoa folded in two, spreading her wings. As long as she was going to cast magic, might as well make them more powerful.

The slashes and the holy spells kept raining on Yunalesca and eventually, she came back to the ground, but she did not look like she was giving up just yet. Everyone stood ready, waiting to see what she was going to do. She pushed herself off the ground again, but this time towards the back. The tentacles came back from under her and grew out of the ground, bringing a gigantic head at the end of them.

"Oh my god!" Audrey exclaimed.

"Eww!" Kerry exclaimed, disgusted.

The head looked like Medusa with a sharp tongue sticking out of a fanged mouth.

"Hyne, is this fight never gonna end?" Squall wondered.

"More stuff keeps showing up under her!" Zell stated in annoyance punching the air in front of him. "What if there's a giant body under that head next!?"

Selphie shivered.

"I sure hope not."

Before anyone would make a move, the head started shaking, preparing something. Two braziers appeared in the air a few feet from the ground in between the fighters and the head, each side of a magic circle. It looked like an altar.

"Oh shit, a death spell!" Squall said in horror. "Everyone get away from there!"

The whole group spread out, moving as far as they could from the altar, hoping it would be enough. Turning back to Yunalesca, Carole saw that not everyone got away…

"Kerry! Get away from her!" she screamed.

The girl was petrified with fear, unable to move a muscle. She was trembling from head to toe and her eyes were wide in her head as if they were going to pop out any minute. She was still holding her daggers, but they were also shaking. Her feet refused to move an inch.

A ghostly creature appeared spinning on itself over the altar and stopped, setting its horrible face upon the only person there. One of its hands was one long claw. Kerry's legs dropped under her and she ended up on her rear, unable to look away from the creature.

"No!" Carole screamed again as she attempted to run to her.

Squall grabbed her and held on tight.

"Don't, you'll get it too!" he said in a begging but sorry voice.

Carole's heart was racing in her chest so much it was painful as she tried to break free of Squall's grip.

The deadly creature raised the claw and a ball of light left Kerry's chest and flew to it. The clawed hand caught it, before shattering it into a million pieces. At that exact moment, all light vanished from Kerry's eyes and she collapsed to her back like a rag doll, with a faint impact noise. The deadly monster and the altar vanished without a trace.

Carole stopped fighting, her eyes wide staring at the lifeless form of the girl. She looked mad.

"God no…" Rachel trailed of.

"It can't be…" Adam added.

Images started flashing in Carole's head very fast, memories of the past.

_Then I'll call you C-chan!_

_I'll protect you, C-chan!_

_You're so strong!_

_C-chan! C-chan!_

Carole grabbed her head in her hands and shut her eyes tightly, digging her nails into her skull, hearing the nickname echoing over and over in her mind.

"No… no…" she kept repeating, shaking her head.

As if wind came out of nowhere, her hair started being blown around her and she started emanating heat to the point where the people closest to her had to move away.

"Carole?" Squall called.

She did not hear him. The only thing she was hearing was the voice of Kerry calling her name again and again. Then the image of her death came back into her mind. She would not call her C-chan again… ever…

Something snapped inside her and she withdrew her head backwards, her eyes still shut tight, spreading her arms each side of her.

"KERRY!!!!!" she yelled so loud the whole place started shaking.

Her whole body suddenly burst into a red aura so strong the others could feel the energy coming from her, pushing them away.

"What the?" Zell started putting an arm over his face to protect himself from the burning wind she was giving off.

"Carole!" her sister called with concern.

A powerful red light wrapped around her for a while before diminishing, leaving only a small red aura around her body. It was enough to worry the others. She lowered her head, her eyes still closed. They suddenly flung open and those who were still close enough to see them jumped backwards.

"What?" Tidus exclaimed.

"Oh, no!" Rinoa exclaimed.

"It's starting," Veronique stated.

Carole's eyes were red with fire, as if she had two fireballs inside her eye sockets. Small traces of flame were even falling from the corner of her eyes when she was blinking, as if she was crying tears of flame. Her face showed many different emotions: sorrow, pain, anger, rage, despair. And a certain thirst for death… She grabbed her gunblade in both hands.

"Magic Sword," she hissed.

It echoed in the area even though she said it really low, making everyone shiver.

"Is that a limit break?" Adam asked.

"I'm afraid not," Rinoa answered.

Squall feared he understood what it was. He tried to go to Carole, but both Rinoa and Veronique jumped in to stop him.

"Let go of me!"

"It's too late, Squall!" Rinoa insisted. "You can't stop it now!"

"She's gone berserk," Veronique added. "If you try to stop her, she might hurt you and you know she doesn't want that!"

"I can't just stay here and do nothing!" he objected still trying to break free of the sorceresses.

"We can stay out of her way so she doesn't hurt anyone!" Veronique advised.

Squall settled down a little.

"Alright… Everyone clear out!"

Not too sure of what was going on, everyone decided to listen and get as far back as they could.

Carole pointed her gunblade at Yunalesca.

"Firaga," she whispered.

Her gunblade suddenly burst into flames and even looked as if it was made of flames. She dashed Yunalesca so fast her feet in fact did not even touch the ground. She left two thin trails of fire behind her, coming from her eyes. She was flying towards her. Yunalesca attempted to stop her as she saw her come, but Carole swiftly evaded. She really was flying!

She slashed hard, sending the flames from her gunblade into Yunalesca's monstrous head. The unsent tried to counter it, but once again, the berserk girl evaded the attack.

Floating in mid-air, she pointed her gunblade once again.

"Blizzaga…"

The blade turned into thick ice so cold it was giving off steam. She slashed Yunalesca with the frozen blade, releasing the sound of cracking ice. After her attack, she hovered away.

"Thundaga…"

Thunder roared and the blade was charged with electricity, giving off small bolts of lightning from time to time. She slashed and thunder came down hard on Yunalesca, shocking her to the core. After that, Carole moved away again.

"Waterga…"

"No way!" Irvine exclaimed. "We don't even have that spell!"

Everyone was staring at the crazy dance Carole was performing, unable to look away. Squall had a hard time staying where he was and wait.

Carole's gunblade was wrapped in a coat of water, making it look a little like the blade on Brotherhood. She slashed and a heavy splashing sound was heard.

"Meteor…

She climbed a little higher and slashed the air under her. Huge flaming rocks came out of nowhere following the swing of her blade and fell all over Yunalesca.

"Holy…"

The blade gave off a blinding white light and she slashed. Yunalesca did not even try to strike back anymore. She did not have the time to. Carole was releasing one attack after another.

"Flare!"

This time, the blade turned a dark red color and gave off small, darkened sparks. When she slashed, an explosion occurred on Yunalesca.

"How long is she gonna keep going?" Zell wondered in amazement.

"She used all the most powerful spells already, she has to be done!" Audrey said.

"No, not all," Quistis corrected her.

"Carole, stop it!" Squall begged her.

"Not yet," Veronique added. "She's not done yet."

Carole landed in front of Yunalesca who had no amount of strength left at all. The sorceress was panting and her aura had grown smaller than when she started her attacks. Her eyes were flashing from brown to red like a defective light. She raised her gunblade over her head.

"Ultima!" she called.

"No!" Squall screamed in an attempt to stop her.

It was to no avail. In her current state, she was deaf.

The gunblade started giving off an eerie greenish light. She brought the blade down and a green wave ran towards Yunalesca, delivering the final blow and putting an end to Carole's deadly series of attacks. The gigantic head released a scream and collapsed with eyes closed, disappearing in pyreflies until only Yunalesca remained on the ground, seriously weakened. Her enemy defeated, Carole dropped her gunblade, unable to hold it anymore. Thinking it safe, the others carefully got a little closer.

"The power that defeated me… will not be enough to defeat Sin… If I die, so does the Final Aeon," Yunalesca told. "And with it, Spira's only hope."

"Then we'll find Spira a new hope!" Tidus swore.

"Fool. There is no other way. Even if there was… even if you did kill Sin… Yu Yevon the immortal would only create Sin anew."

"Yu Yevon!?"

"Ah… Zaon…forgive me… Spira has been robbed of the light of hope… All that remains is sorrow…"

She collapsed and disappeared into pyreflies. After a millennium, she could finally go to the Farplane. However, only a few witnessed her departure. Most of them were watching Carole, realizing she was not done yet. Even though Yunalesca was defeated and she was not even holding her gunblade anymore, she still had a faint aura surrounding her as she walked towards Kerry's body. Tears were rolling down her face when she dropped on her knees next to her friend. She looked at the grey, lifeless face of the girl and the wide eyes filled with fear. She did not suffer, but she died terrified. Carole placed her hands over the girl's chest.

"Re… revive…" she hardly managed to say.

A soothing white light emanated from her body and moved to her hands where it gathered until she stopped glowing. Then it left her hands and spread all over Kerry's body. The light faded and Carole's arms fell limp each sides of her. Her aura was gone as well and her head dropped on her chest. Kerry blinked and took a deep breath as if she has been holding her breath for a long time. She sat up quickly with surprise all over her face and she looked around.

"Huh? What? What happened? Where's Yunalesca?"

Further behind, Yuna put a hand over her mouth and Selphie started crying silently.

"It's a miracle…"

Kerry caught sight of Carole next to her.

"What happened, C-chan? C-chan?"

At that same moment, Squall suddenly widened his eyes and dropped on his knees, grabbing his head in his hands. He shut his eyes tightly as a very strong wave of pain overcame him.

"Aargh!"

"Squall, what's wrong?" Rinoa inquired with concern getting closer to him.

"Ugh… it's like something… something snapped… in my head…"

"Snapped? Oh no…"

Rinoa's face became white as she figured the reason for this. Squall realized as well at the same time. He looked ahead and saw Kerry getting worried over Carole.

"No… please, no…!"

He got up and ran towards the two girls, his legs trembling under him. When Kerry saw him coming, she moved aside. Squall fell on his knees in front of Carole and grabbed her shoulders, scanning her face. Her eyes were closed and her body was pale. She had a faint smile on her face as if she knew she succeeded.

"Carole?" Squall called. "Can you hear me? You can, right? You could still hear me even when you got deaf, you could even when I was not around… Carole!"

Squall lowered his head seeing he was not getting any response, clenching the girl's shoulders in his hands.

The others had moved closer in the meantime.

"Is she…?" Rachel asked in fear.

Rinoa kneeled down next to Squall.

"Allow me."

Squall moved aside and let Rinoa get in front of Carole. She stared at Carole's face a moment. Squall watched her with his heart banging in his temples, hopeful. She frowned then closed her eyes. She lowered her head with a sigh before turning a sorry face to Squall.

"She's gone…" she told him shaking her head.

"What do you mean gone? But… she's still breathing!"

"Her body is still alive, but her soul is gone," she explained. "She went too far. She may be a sorceress with great powers, but her body is of a human being; it has limits. That's why you felt that snapping, your link has been broken."

"No!!"

He pushed Rinoa to the side to get back in front of Carole himself, his eyes wide with horror at the thought that she was lost. Struck with an idea, he grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her for a few seconds but unfortunately, he got no reaction at all. Still holding her face, he lowered his, resting his forehead against hers, devastated.

"It's not gonna work, Squall," Veronique interfered.

"Why… why did it work for me, but not for her?"  
"Do you really believe it was her love for you that brought you back last time?"

Everyone turned to her, wondering what she meant. Guys had serious faces and most girls were shedding tears, some were even sobbing.

"She was already a sorceress back then," Veronique explained. "She used your link to reach you and brought you back with her magic."

Squall turned to Rinoa.

"You knew?"

She nodded.

"I could feel she had the potential to bring you back, but I didn't ask myself why. She had the link with you, that's why I couldn't bring you back myself."

"So she really will…"

"A body can't live long without the soul, Squall," Veronique said in a grave tone. "I'm sorry."

Her words were sincere, there was even sadness in her voice.

"Is C-chan going to die?" Kerry asked, scared.

Adam went to her and helped her up to take her away.

"Come on."

Squall shut his eyes as painful tears rushed to them. He clenched his teeth.

"Why? Why did you have to do this? You can't do this, not now! Please, you have to come back! I need you… Please! Please…"

His hands were still on her shoulders but his head was down. His own shoulders were shaken with his sobs. The others felt even more pain seeing him like that. They never saw him cry like that before.

"Where is she…? Is there a chance that she…?"

Veronique figured what he meant and shook her head.

"No, you were not close enough to allow a transfer of her soul into yours. Besides, your link wouldn't have snapped if that would have happened."

"Where is it, then?" he asked looking around as if he expected to see it. "Where is her soul?"

"Since her body survived, her soul should have made it back, but since it didn't…"

She seemed reluctant to continue.

"What?" Squall urged her.

"She doesn't know how… or she doesn't have the will to come back."

"She doesn't have the will!?" Rachel exclaimed with tears all over her face. "She's engaged! She's gonna get married, isn't that reason enough?"

Squall suddenly got up and started yelling at Veronique. He was losing it.

"You're a sorceress, for crying out loud! Can't you do something?"

She put on a sorry look. She was touched by such concern and love.

"I'm sorry… I can't even feel her presence anywhere. It may already be too late."

"What will happen if her soul doesn't come back?" Rachel asked, dreading the answer.

"Like I said: a body can't live without its soul. She will really die, then…"

Rachel collapsed to her knees, crying. Zell tried to bring her some comfort, but he was not good at it. And not much could comfort someone from this. Audrey brought her hands to her mouth then she hid her face in Seifer's chest.

As though he was not sure he heard right, Tidus stepped forward.

"What? She's gonna die? She can't die, she's too strong!"

"She's not immortal because she's a sorceress, Tidus," Veronique explained. "She's made of bones, flesh and blood and she can die. She will if her soul doesn't make it back into her body."

A heavy silence followed, some trying to find something to say, suggest something to do, find a way to help. Nothing came to mind.

"How long?" Squall asked in a deep and hoarse voice.

"Depends. If her soul is close by and trying to get back it could last for hours, even days. But if it's gone… not even an hour."

"She's still alive for now!" Squall stated.

He kneeled down in front of Carole, turning his back on her. He reached her arms and pulled them around his neck and got up, leaning forward to make sure she would not fall. Then he grabbed her legs around his waist.

"Do you need help?" Adam asked.

"Forget it," Quistis advised. "He's pretty stubborn when it comes to her."

He walked through everyone and headed for the stairs to get out of this place. Some tears were left in his eyes, but his face showed that expressionless look it used to wear in the past.

_I'm not letting you die, you hear? No matter what, you're not dying!_

Wiping tears, the SeeDs hurried behind him and the guardians followed suit.

"I cannot believe what just happened," Yuna said in a mixture of shock and sadness.

"She'll pull through, I know she will. Then we'll do something even more unbelievable than defeat Yunalesca," Tidus stated.

"Like what?" Rikku asked.

"Destroy Sin. So it won't come back, and without the Final Aeon."

He ran forward and looked at the sky before turning his head to the others.

"I don't know how just yet. But I'll find out."

When everybody ran back downstairs, a flash of light startled most of them. The room went dark and there were no more pyreflies. Everyone moved ahead to try and keep up with Squall but Auron waited behind down the stairs.

"We must talk," he told Tidus when he walked by him.

"You really think now's the right time for that?"

"There is something I believe you should know."

"I know… it's about you, right?"

"I am also an unsent. You are not surprised?"

"I think I kinda knew. It was Yunalesca, wasn't it?"

"When Braska and Jecht died defeating Sin, I just couldn't accept it. I came back here… tried to avenge them. But she struck me down. Somehow I made my way, crawling down Mount Gagazet. But my strength left me just outside Bevelle. That's where Kimahri found me. I told him about Yuna… just before I died. I've been wandering ever since, never going to the Farplane."

"Auron…"

"Don't make that face. Being dead has its advantages. I was able to ride Sin and go to your Zanarkand."

"And you've been watching over me since then, haven't you? Why? What's the big idea? Why me?"

"It is one of those things that is difficult to explain. Very well, I will show you."

Auron walked past him to the middle of the room.

"My memories."

He went down to his knees and reached a hand to his face, concentrating. He started radiating pyreflies then stretched his hand to the side. A flash occurred and an image of Jecht appeared.

"Can I ask you one last favor? Uh… Nah. Never mind."

"Out with it!" Auron urged him.

"Okay. Listen good. Take care of my son."

Auron looked surprised by the request. Jecht turned around.

"My son, in Zanarkand," Jecht explained. "He's such a crybaby. He needs someone there to hold his hand, see? Take care of him, will you?"

"But how am I supposed to go to Zanarkand?"

Jecht chuckled.

"Hey! You said it yourself! There must be a way to get there, right? You'll find it."

"All right. I will! I give you my word. I'll take care of your son. I'll guard him with my life."

"Thanks, Auron," Jecht said moving closer to hug him. "You were always such a stiff, but that's what I liked about ya."

The flashback ended and Auron got up to leave the room.

"That is why," he said.

Tidus stood there a moment, dealing with the sudden revelation that his father cared for him. Too much was happening too quickly and he decided not to dwell on it for the moment. He hurried after the others.

Back at the platform, they split in smaller groups to ride it back up. The trial rooms were now lit, but the screens showed nothing at all anymore. They walked back up the tunnel and through the hall leading outside. The sun was coming up, it was dawn.

The first one outside, Squall stopped a few steps out.

"Why are you stopping?" Zell asked behind him.

Without a word, Squall simply moved to the side to clear the way and let the others out. A quite noticeable surprise was waiting for them. Sin was right next to the dome. Everyone froze seeing it, fearing their last hour had come, but Sin was not moving. It seemed to be looking at them.

Squall was the only one who never saw Sin completely and despite that, he did not looked impressed one bit, nor intimidated.

When Tidus got out, he stared at Sin.

_Dad? _he thought. _I know. The Final Summoning's gone. But I'll think of something! Just give me a little more time!_

As if it understood, Sin slowly turned around and started going away towards the sea just as the airship arrived. It flew right next to Sin, which didn't seem to care for it, lucky for its passengers. Tidus traced Sin leaving as the ship came down to pick everyone up.

_Maybe it is my fate…_ Squall thought as everyone started climbing on board. _This is the second time I carry a comatose sorceress on my back… And both times, it was a girl I loved. I'll make sure you wake up as well or there will not be a chance for it to happen to me a third time!_

_A/N: Once again, thanks to Ric Leonhart for editing and helping improve this story. To the other readers, I have to apologize, but this is the part where I run out of material to keep writing again. I had this part of the story planned for years (seriously) I got the immediate next part thought out, but that's it. The rest will have to go with the game and I have no idea when it will come. But it will!_


	32. Chapter 31: Ultimatum

**Chapter 31: Ultimatum**

Once everyone got on board, they headed to the bridge. Short of their leading couple, the SeeDs looked a little gloomy. Squall asked for a room where he could rest Carole, then sat down by her side and asked the others to leave him alone, which they all did reluctantly.

"Frana du huf?" Brother asked once everyone showed up on the bridge.

Cid turned around and looked at the long faces of everyone standing there. Some were standing in the hallway behind, the bridge not being roomy enough for everyone.

"Aren't we the happy lookin' bunch," Cid exclaimed sarcastically.

"Frana? Frana?" Brother insisted.

"Where? Where? That all you can say?" Rikku asked, getting annoyed. "Why don't you think of something?"

Brother waved it off and kept quiet, looking ahead of himself and focusing on the controls.

"Well?" Auron asked. "Any good ideas?"

"Come on, help us!" Tidus urged turning his head to him.

"What do we know… Sin is Jecht. Thus, you have a link… a bond with Sin. That may be our key."

"So what do we do?" Tidus asked turning to him completely.

Auron turned away from him.

"We think, and we wait."

Auron walked towards the exit and the others split to let him through. Tidus sighed dejectedly.

"Two things I'm bad at."

Yuna walked in between the SeeDs standing on the two sides. Everyone traced her while she walked up to Cid. She placed her hands together in front of her chest and she bowed. She remained like that for a few seconds, and then she rose, looking at Cid's back. She nodded and turned around without a word to leave the bridge, leaving the old man. She did not see his face, or that he was crying silently out of relief, now knowing that she would live.

In the hall, Yuna encountered Kimahri standing there. He nodded at her then kept going down the hall, Yuna behind him.

Tidus turned towards the door, willing to go after Yuna and talk to her. He walked through the SeeDs and gave them an encouraging look as to not give up. Some nodded but others still looked pretty lost and devastated.

Rachel turned to the others, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"What are we gonna do now?" she asked in a hoarse tone.

Zell gently rubbed her back while Quistis closed her eyes and sighed.

"As long as Carole will be like that, we can count Squall out. So…"

"You take over, Quisty," Irvine suggested. "Just for a while."

She looked around to everyone and saw approval on their faces despite the situation. They knew her experience would prove useful.

"Alright, but only until things settle."

Everyone nodded except Kerry, standing behind with her head down.

"We have to help Yuna get rid of Sin, that much we know," Quistis stated, attempting to change the mood. "We don't know how, yet."

"Well, we don't exactly know what we got to fight with in the first place," Dave pointed out. "That thing is huge!"

"We lack information," Selphie said. "We need to know what we got to work with."

"Let's wait it out a little. It's been hard on everyone, we should get some rest while we can," Quistis suggested.

Everyone was pretty beat both physically and mentally. The fight against Yunalesca had worn them out, not to mention the aftermath.

"Come on," Audrey psyched up. "Carole wouldn't want us to mope around, right? She'd want us to stand up and kick Sin's ass!"

Everyone turned to Audrey and slightly rose up.

"You're right," Rachel admitted. "But we won't kick Sin's ass if we're tired, we need to rest."

Once that was agreed on, everyone left the bridge and the hallway to try and relax until a plan would be put into place. Leaning against the wall, Auron traced them leaving.

While everyone spread out to get some rest and think about what to do next, Tidus caught up with Yuna on the upper level where the elevator leading to the deck was. She was looking outside though the window with Kimahri behind her. She traced Tidus coming to her then looked outside again.

"I'm no good at all," she told.

"What are you talking about?" Tidus asked looking at her.

She lowered her head.

"All this time, I've been thinking about how to defeat Sin. But I… Beyond the teachings of Yevon, I… I know nothing."

She turned to Tidus.

"I'm sorry."

Kimahri got closer to her.

"Yuna, no apologies."

"Huh?" she wondered turning around.

"Apology is running. Yuna never runs away."

She smiled, nodding.

"Thank you, Kimahri."

"So, uh, Kimahri…" Tidus started turning to him, eager to change the subject. "You got any good ideas?"

"Yevon's teachings," the ronso rumbled

"The teachings won't help us fight Sin," Yuna objected.

"No answer in the teachings," Kimahri explained. "Answer lie outside. Must know both sides to find answer."

"Both sides…" Yuna trailed off reaching a hand to her face, thoughtful.

"Mika knows much," Kimahri continued. "Find him, make him talk."

"That's it!" Tidus exclaimed pumping his fist. "Kimahri! You rock!"

Kimahri cleared his throat as if he was embarrassed by such praise.

"Kimahri doubts Mika will welcome us."

"He'll have to run pretty fast to beat this airship!" Tidus grinned.

"We cannot chase if we cannot see."

Tidus knew Kimahri was right, but at least now they had some lead as to what to do next. He went back to Yuna's side.

"To Bevelle, then?" he asked.

"Through the front door!" she stated, determined.

He turned his head to her.

"You worried?"

"I'll be fine," she assured. "We can't stop now."

Nodding, Tidus decided to head back to the bridge to tell Cid to run a course for Bevelle so they could have a chat with Mika. He ran past some of the SeeDs on his way, either walking in the opposite direction or sitting on the floor to get some rest. His thoughts drifted back to Carole and he hoped she would pull through. As he got to know her, he learned that she could be pretty stubborn, but she was not one to give up. He knew she wanted to see this through to the end and he wanted to believe that this alone would help her get better.

Seeing him run through the halls, some got their curiosity picked.

"Hey, what's up?" Zell asked him sitting on the floor with Rachel dozing off against his shoulder.

He had an arm around her and kept rubbing her arm comfortingly, hoping to help.

"I think we found out what to do next."

"Great!"

The SeeD wanted to get up, but he turned his head to the sleeping girl next to him and gave Tidus a sorry face. The blitzer shook his head with a smile.

"Get your rest, I can handle this."

"Yeah, okay."

Nodding, Tidus kept going towards the bridge, traced by more resting SeeDs and passing some fast asleep ones. Eager to get going with the plan, he barely noticed the girl leaning against the wall directly opposite of Auron in the hall leading to the bridge. Kerry had her head down and she looked even smaller, trying to make herself as discreet as possible.

The moment Tidus stepped on the bridge, Wakka turned around looking pretty excited.

"Hey, guys! I just had a great idea!"

Rikku put a hand over his mouth, looking pretty excited herself.

"It was my idea," she objected. "Let me tell them!"

Wakka waved her off and stepped forward.

"It's like this, ya?"

Rikku snuck under his arm to get back ahead.

"I just thought!"

"The Hymn is the key," Lulu cut in.

Both Rikku and Wakka turned to her, letting out moans of disappointment.

"The Hymn?" Tidus asked turning to Lulu and ignoring the other two.

"Sir Jecht likes the Hymn of the Fayth, correct?"

"Yeah," Tidus confirmed with a nod.

"That's why he was listening to it in Macalania!" Rikku figured.

"Sin… violence incarnate, listening peacefully," Lulu stated.

Wakka walked up to Tidus, traced by Veronique standing to the side. Wakka scratched the back of his head, a little uneasy.

"I know it's your old man, and I don't mean no disrespect, but…"

"No, it's fine," Tidus assured shaking his head. "I've gotten used to it."

"Let me say it," Lulu offered looking at Wakka.

She made a few steps towards him.

"If we attack Sin head-on, we've little chance of winning," she explained before turning to Tidus. "However, if he hears the Hymn of the Fayth, he will become docile."

"Yeah, and that's when we make our move!" Wakka added before scratching the back of his head. "Might be against the rules and all, but who's keeping track, ya? Ya?"

"You got it, bro!" Veronique said with a playful smile.

Rikku leant forward, looking at Tidus.

"Yeah, it could really work!"

"Yeah…" Tidus started before letting a smile show up on his face. "Yeah, it's worth a try!"

Cid rose with his fists to his hips.

"Well that sounds like a plan to me! My baby here'll take us anywhere we want!"

"We go to Bevelle!" Tidus said. "Drop us off on the highbridge."

"What about the others?" Rikku inquired.

Tidus reached a hand to his face, thoughtful but Veronique interrupted it.

"They need to rest. This is only an information hunt, we can pull this off on our own and brief them when we come back."

She turned to Wakka.

"That is, if you don't mind me coming with you."

"Of course you can come!"

As the airship was flying towards Bevelle at great speed, Kerry stepped on the bridge.

"Hum…" she started shyly.

Everyone turned to her. They could not help but think that only a couple hours ago, she was dead. Yet there she stood. She took a deep breath and lifted her head with a frown of determination.

"I'd like to come too!"

Also back on the bridge, Yuna had a warm smile and walked to the younger girl.

"You don't have to, Kerry. We're only going to ask Maester Mika a few things, there won't be any fighting."

"I know, but… I wanna go! Then I'll brief the others about it when we come back."

"You could use a rest, kid," Wakka suggested. "You've been through a lot."

Kerry strongly shook her head.

"I'm not tired! C-chan… C-chan completely revitalized me, I'm okay! Please, Lady Yuna! Let me come with you!"

"Let her come," Auron cut in.

Yuna nodded and bowed. Tidus came to her side and put a hand on Kerry's head, smiling comfortingly at her.

"You want to help in her place, huh?"

She nodded strongly, biting the tears back.

"I… I believe in C-chan! I want to do what I can until she gets better!"

Tidus rubbed the top of her head with a smile.

"That's the spirit, Kerry."

Bevelle was reached quickly thanks to the airship and everyone disembarked on the highbridge. They headed for the building at the end but two guards holding guns barred their way. The guns were pointed at Yuna and the others.

"Infidel!" one exclaimed.

Wakka grabbed his face.

"Man, don't these guys ever give up?"

"You'll regret showing your face here! We'll strike you down in the name of Yevon!"

Tidus sighed, putting a hand on his hip, annoyed.

"Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, so? Guys?"

"If they want a fight, we'll give 'em one!" Rikku suggested, psyching up.

Next to her, Kerry immediately took out her daggers, ready.

"Prepare to charge!" one of the guards said, not the least bit intimidated by the larger number of opponents.

People could be driven to incredible lengths for their faith, no matter if the odds were against them.

"Stop!" a female voice interfered.

The guards lowered their guns immediately and turned around to the woman in green running towards them from the building. She looked familiar to the group and Tidus recalled where he saw her before. In Guadosalam before they left for the Thunderplains. It was Shelinda.

"Captain?" one of the guards asked, confused.

"Lady Yuna is not to be harmed! She's no traitor! That is an evil rumor spread by the Al Bhed!"

"What?" Rikku exclaimed in an outraged tone.

"Maester Mika himself told me."

"Then… what are we to do?" a guard wondered, still confused.

"Stand down!" Rikku commanded.

"As she says!" Shelinda confirmed.

The guards nodded and moved aside.

"What was that about evil Al Bhed?" Rikku asked.

"I…" Shelinda started stepping forward. "Truly, I do not understand it myself. All Yevon seems to be in a state of confusion. Why, yesterday they called me out of the blue and made me captain of the guard!"

"Short on believers?" Auron supposed.

"Yes, the chaos in the temples is worse than I'd imagined. It's horrible! And all the priests do is blame each other."

"Some people desperately feel a need to put the blame on someone," Veronique said. "Makes it easier to deal with, sometimes."

Wakka folded his arms and Shelinda shook her head, concerned.

"I worry what will become of Yevon. But no! I must be the rock that stands against the swirling tides, right?"

She turned to Yuna with a smile on her face.

"Lady Yuna, I must tell you, your courage has been a great inspiration to me."

"Yeah, that's great," Tidus interrupted. "But we came to see Maester Mika. Is he here?"

"Yes. I shall arrange an audience."

She spun around and ran towards the entrance of the building.

"Please wait in the courtroom," she demanded before she disappeared.

"Hey, hey, wait!" Rikku called. "What was all that about the Al Bhed lying and stuff?"

"Simple," Auron answered her.

Rikku turned to him, willing to know how this was simple.

"Yuna has become Mika's only hope," he explained.

"Oh… Okay."

Lulu put a hand on her forehead, shaking her head.

"Just what does he think he can get away with?"

"Time to teach him some manners!" Tidus states.

Yuna turned to him.

"Yes," she approved with a nod. "Let's."

The group walked inside the building and Kerry followed quickly, as resolved as she was on the airship.

They found Mika inside the courtroom, his back turned to them.

"Why are you here?" the old man asked in a displeased tone. "You must go defeat Sin, quickly! You have obtained the Final Aeon from Yunalesca, have you not?"

"Well, we did meet her," Tidus said.

Yuna looked troubled, but only for a brief moment. Her troubled expression was turned into a look of determination.

"We fought and defeated her."

"What!" Mika exclaimed spinning around.

"Summoners and guardians will be sacrificed for the Final Summoning no more!" Auron stated.

"You have profaned and subverted a thousand-year-old tradition?" Mika asked, bewildered. "Fools! Infants! Do you realize what you've done? You've taken away the only means of calming Sin!"

"Hey, maybe that's not the only way!" Tidus objected, tired of the old man's hysterical behaviour. "We think we've got another."

"Why…" Mika trailed off shaking his head. "Preposterous! There is no other way!"

"The grand maester, running away?" Auron asked in a mocking tone.

"Spira has lost its only hope. Destruction is inevitable."

His shoulders dropped, a fatal look on his face.

"Yu Yevon's spiral of death will consume us all. I have no desire to watch Spira die."

"It won't die!" Yuna assured.

"Who is this Yu Yevon guy?" Tidus inquired, recalling Yunalesca also mentioned this name.

"Wait, gramps!" Rikku joined in. "Who's Yu Yevon?"

"He who crafts souls of the dead into unholy armor," Mika explained before turning his back on the group again. "An armor called Sin. Clad in it, Yu Yevon is invincible."

He turned back around to face everyone once more, anger on his face.

"And the only thing that could have pierced that armor, you have destroyed!"

He raised his arms to the sky, looking up.

"Nothing can stop it now."

Giving up, Mika disappeared in a bunch of pyreflies and soon, nothing was left of the unsent the grand maester used to be.

"Disappear on us, will ya?" Wakka exclaimed. "Rotten son of a shoopuf!"

Shelinda suddenly arrived from the other side of the room and everyone turned to her.

"Where… where is the grand maester?" she asked with concern.

"He, um…" Yuna started, uneasy.

"He's not here yet," Auron lied. "How long must we wait?"

"That's odd… I'll go look for his Grace."

As Shelinda left, the ghostly child form of Bahamut's fayth appeared next to Tidus, immediately catching his attention.

"It's you," Tidus said recognizing him.

"Come to my room," the kid asked.

"Okay," Yuna accepted.

Wakka turned to the two, intrigued.

"Who you talking to?" he asked.

He did not see the ghost and he had already disappeared after Yuna agreed to go meet him.

"Oh. Uh, no one," Tidus answered scratching his cheek.

Yuna turned to Auron, joining her hands on the front of her skirt.

"I must go see the fayth," she stated.

Auron sighed.

"I see."

He figured there was a reason for this and did not ask what it was. The group left the courtroom and made their way to the temple. Tidus and Yuna entered the chamber of the fayth alone where they met the fayth, hovering over the dome covering the statue. The others patiently waited outside.

"Hello," he greeted them.

"I must thank you for the aeon," Yuna said taking a bow.

"So, what's up?" Tidus inquired.

"So, have you found a way to truly defeat Sin?"

"Well…" Tidus started, putting a hand on his chin. "I think so."

"Well?"

"We think the Hymn of the Fayth might slow Sin down."

"Hmm… Perhaps."

"You mean it won't work?" Yuna asked, worried.

"A very long time has passed since your father became Sin," the fayth explained. "He may not be able to hear the hymn anymore."

"I know it's a long shot," Tidus agreed. "But we gotta try it if there's a chance."

"Yes, you must. I'm glad you're doing this. You have a good spirit, truly."

"I'm not just a dream, right?" Tidus asked.

"A dream?" Yuna wondered turning a curious face to Tidus.

"Uh… It's a long story," Tidus said a little embarrassed.

"If it works, what'll you do then?" the fayth asked, interrupting them. "You need more than the hymn."

"Well…"

"Well?"

"We fight Yu Yevon."

"Yes… If you defeat Yu Yevon, it will end. Tell me, what do you know about Yu Yevon?"

"He's what makes Sin come back!" Tidus answered immediately.

"Sin is his armor," Yuna added. "It protects him."

"Yu Yevon was once a summoner long ago," the fayth told. "He was peerless. Yet now he lives for one purpose: only to summon. He is neither good, nor evil. He is awake, yet he dreams. But… maybe not forever."

"Yeah, that's right," Tidus agreed. "Because we're ending it."

"Yes," the fayth approved. "Even if you defeat Sin with the Final Summoning, Yu Yevon will live. Yu Yevon will join with the Final Aeon. He will transform it into a new Sin."

"Yu Yevon merges with the aeon…" Yuna trailed off.

"Then, protected by the new Sin he has created, Yu Yevon continues the summoning."

"For eternity… huh?" Tidus understood lowering his head.

"But you know, there is no such thing as eternity if you end it, is there?"

"Uh-huh."

"Yu Yevon lives inside Sin. Yuna, listen. When you fight Yu Yevon, we will help you. Promise me you'll summon us. I'm afraid your swords and magic won't be enough. Please, call us. Promise?"

"Yes," Yuna accepted.

"But, you know…" the fayth continued turning to Tidus. "When it is all over, we will wake, and our dream will end. Our dream will vanish."

"Yeah," Tidus understood with a nod. "You've been dreaming a long time, haven't you?"

"I'm sorry."

"I'm grateful," Tidus assured, waving.

The fayth vanished and Yuna took advantage of this to turn a concerned look to Tidus.

"About what?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing."

She stared at him, not buying it.

"Hey, don't make that face!" Tidus tried to cheer her up. "Come on! We're going to beat Sin! Let's see some cheer, okay?"

"You're hiding something," she stated, suspicious.

"I'm not!" he lied looking away to avoid her gaze.

He walked towards the door, Yuna tracing him.

"Really?" she insisted.

He froze for a second then left without answering her.

"You're a bad liar, you know?" she whispered.

She also left the chamber to meet back with the rest of her guardians and Kerry waiting patiently outside. At that moment, Shelinda entered the room to meet with them.

"I'm afraid the grand maester is nowhere to be found!" she told them in a worried tone.

"S'okay," Tidus assured shaking his head. "We were just leaving."

"Oh… I see."

"Hey!" Rikku exclaimed suddenly struck with an idea. "Maybe you could help us with the hymn."

"Hey, good idea!" Tidus agreed.

"It's like, we need you to tell as many people as you can," Rikku explained.

"What should I tell them?" Shelinda wondered, curious.

"A ship in the sky will sing the Hymn of the Fayth. When they hear it, we need everyone to sing along!"

"Everyone in Spira!" Wakka added.

"I'm not sure I understand," Shelinda said with a hand on her cheek, confused.

"You don't have to!" Rikku urged her. "Just tell everyone!"

"A ship in the sky will sing the Hymn of the Fayth?" she recited. "So when they hear it, everyone should sing along, correct?"

"If they do, we might be able to defeat Sin!" Tidus pointed out.

"Truly?" Shelinda asked hopefully.

"Yes!" Yuna confirmed.

"That's wonderful! You can count on me! I shall tell all of Spira!"

She seemed determined enough to carry out that task. She went away to get started immediately as Yuna and the others started heading back.

Walking right behind Tidus and Yuna, Kerry was looking at the floor, depressed. Yuna eyed Tidus and he nodded at her. He slowed down to get to Kerry's level.

"How you hanging, Kerry?"

She looked up to Tidus' face and he realized his question was pretty stupid. He scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward.

"Uh, I mean…"

He put a hand on top of her head in a comforting gesture and she let him do it.

"Don't worry, she'll pull through."

Kerry nodded but did not say a word, feeling a ball stuck in her throat, preventing her from saying anything anyway.

They went back to the airship and the moment she stepped on board, Kerry ran ahead to tell the others what she had learned. Startled, Tidus reached a hand out towards her.

"H… hey!" he called.

"Let her go," Auron advised. "She chose to take this task, let her carry it."

The summoner and her guardians headed back to the bridge. Shortly after, the SeeDs showed up together with Kerry.

"Yo!" Zell said.

"What is our next move?" Quistis inquired on the front of the group.

"We asked Shelinda to tell as much people as she can to sing the hymn along with the ship when they hear it," Tidus explained. "Will probably take a while, though."

"Will give us time to prepare ourselves," Seifer stated.

"Yes," Yuna agreed.

"How about using the airship?" Veronique asked. "It can go anywhere very fast, I might know a few places we could go that hold old treasures."

"Really?" Wakka asked in surprise turning to her.

His sister nodded. She did not spend all her time watching other people live their lives, she also explored the world on her own.

"Well, get over here and show me where to go!" Cid encouraged her, psyching up.

"Allow us to help," Quistis demanded. "We can't just sit here and do nothing."

"Of course," Yuna nodded with a bow. "Thanks for your assistance."

"Maybe during that time, Carole will wake up too!" Rachel stated hopefully.

Everyone was hoping for that as well.

"How is she?" Tidus inquired with a serious look on his face.

Quistis shut her eyes and shook her head.

"Squall is not letting anyone in, but he said there is no change. At all, good or bad."

"As long as she is not getting worse…" Tidus breathed out.

Taking a deep breath, he rose up, determination on his face as he pumped his fist in a psyching up gesture.

"Let's get ready for Sin!"

Everyone threw their own fist in the air and let out cheers.

While Shelinda was spreading the word on Spira, Yuna and the others were travelling the world over in search of anything that would be an addition to the fight against Sin. Veronique pointed them to the ruins of a temple close to Zanarkand where Yuna surprisingly obtained Anima, the aeon used by Seymour himself. In the Calm Lands, they met a man performing various studies on fiends who asked them to capture monsters for him so he could study them. He promised them great rewards in return. Being a fair amount of people, they agreed to split up to be more effective. After a week had passed and no time has been wasted, weapons with great potential had been found and items required to unlock this potential were searched for across Spira. Everyone worked hard and relieved each other so everyone would always be rested.

Quistis was returning from Squall's room with a tray of food when she came across Dave who had just returned from an errand on the surface. He took a look at the tray and noticed that once again, the food had not been touched.

"He's still not eating?"

The blond shook her head, concern showing clearly on her face.

"He drinks the water, but he hasn't touched the food in days… I'm not even sure if he drinks the water himself or if he gives it to her…"

"Have you seen him?"

She shook her head once more.

"I found the tray on the floor outside the room again. I tried knocking but he asked me to leave again."

She sighed and lowered her head.

"He doesn't sound good, though… I can tell."

Dave took the tray from Quistis' hands with one of his and wrapped his other arm around her, holding her close. She lost herself in the embrace, breathing out.

"He said there is still no change, but… Dave, what if she doesn't…"

Unable to finish her sentence, Quistis placed scared eyes on Dave. He held her closer.

"Someone better keep an eye on Squall. If things were to change drastically and nobody is there…"

He could not bring himself to think what the SeeD leader might attempt would Carole not make it.

"Kerry is standing watch right now."

"Ah. Poor kid has barely said anything since Carole brought her back. Do you think maybe something might have gone wrong when she was revived?"

"No," Quistis objected, shaking her head. "I checked her, she was fine. She's just very worried. And I think she feels responsible as well."

"Bah. If Carole knew that, she would slap her for feeling responsible for something she did."

"Yeah…"

"Come on, go get some rest. I'll take this back."

"Thank you."

Dave placed a kiss on her lips and went away to get rid of the tray while Quistis reached another room to try and sleep a little.

In the room where the SeeD leader and his girlfriend had been for a week, Squall was sitting on a chair, his knees touching the side of the bed. His jacket was hanging from the back of the chair and he was holding Carole's hand in his. His eyes were swollen and the skin around them had taken a mean shade of purple due to the lack of sleep. His cheeks were starting to curve inwards, and his hands were trembling constantly from the lack of energy. He was unable to eat a single bite and he refused to sleep, afraid that she might die during his sleep.

"I still remember that slap you gave me after your SeeD field exam," he said in a hoarse and exhausted tone. "I really deserved it too for treating you like that."

He lowered his head, some strands of his hair falling over his face. It had lost its usual shine.

"No matter how much of a jerk I could be, no matter how much I hurt you, you never gave up on me. I'm not going to give up on you either. You know what? When we get back home, first thing I'm gonna do is give my father a warning. Either he shuts down Odine's lab for good once and for all, or I'm going to Esthar myself to blow it up!"

His shoulders shook a little due to a light chuckle of sadistic pleasure at the thought of causing mass destruction.

"The others are worried too, you know… But I can't just go on and pretend everything's fine, I just can't do that!"

He leant forward over the still form of his girlfriend. She still had that little smile she had on her face after transferring her own life force into Kerry. Nothing had changed in a whole week, nothing at all. Despite the fact that she had not moved at all or eaten anything, she looked exactly the same, unlike Squall. He had spent countless hours talking to her, hoping that eventually, she would respond. Hoping to trigger something inside her and make her wake up. Nothing had worked so far and Squall was starting to doubt that anything would.

"Carole…" he trailed off. "I… you got to come back! The others are searching for more powerful weapons around Spira and they already found some, they're not gonna wait forever! I know you wanted to see this to the end!"

He lowered his head again, shutting his eyes.

"We should have gone back while we had a chance…"

"No…" a familiar voice answered behind him.

Startled, his heart literally stopping in his chest, Squall let go of the hand he was holding and jumped to his feet, spinning around, eyes wide opened at the sound of the voice. What he saw defied all logic but for a brief moment, it brought him immeasurable relief.

"Carole!"

She was standing in the corner of the room, looking at him but her face was strange. She was usually an open book, her emotions could be seen by anyone, but the way she looked now, her face showed no emotion whatsoever. None at all. No joy, no anger, no sadness, nothing.

The feeling of immense relief that Squall felt quickly gave way to bewilderment. He turned his head back to the bed and saw that she was still there, lying lifeless. Turning back to the corner of the room, she was also there but with her emotionless face, he barely recognized her.

"Wait a minute…"

He walked to her and raised a hand to her face to touch her cheek. His unsure hand went through her as if she was not really there. His shoulders dropped.

"I guess this is your soul?" he supposed.

"Apparently," she answered in an emotionless voice.

Squall took a deep breath and a little smile showed up on his face.

"It doesn't matter anyway, get back in your body and we can go tell the others you're okay!" he said getting cheered up as he walked back to the unconscious body.

"No."

He froze halfway and slowly turned around. He really did not like her emotionless tone as she answered. It made her sound dead serious.

"What do you mean "no"?" he asked in a whisper, unable to speak louder.

His heart had started beating faster and his already weak body even got slightly weaker.

"I do not see a reason why I should get back in that weak body."

Squall frowned.

"Heh… hehe… Come on, you're not serious?"

She shrugged and shook her head but the expression on her face remained the same. Squall went back to face her.

"What about killing Sin? You can't do that in that state."

"I do not see the point in it anymore."

"So it can stop killing people!"

"I do not care about that."

Squall widened his eyes, horrified.

"I don't believe you!"

"In this state, I feel nothing. No pain, no sorrow, no fear… It is quite… pleasant."

She did not look pleased to him, but she merely used the word out of principle.

"How about love, care and joy?"

"A small price to pay. I do not wish to feel the pain of losing someone I cared for or the fear of losing someone. I rather not care at all."

Dumbfounded, Squall looked right about to lose it.

"I… no, this isn't you, it's not possible! You care for everyone, even people you don't know! You changed the rules in Garden, you saved my life, brought me back to life, not to mention you did the same for Kerry as well! Carole, you have to come back! Once Sin is defeated, we will go back home and get married and… I'll even quit SeeD if you want!"

Carole shook her head, never taking her emotionless eyes off Squall.

"I am not going back with you, Squall. I am free of my bonds now and I do not wish to go back to them. I do not care about anything anymore and nothing you can say will change that."

Squall spun around and ran both his hands through his hair, pacing across the room. He felt her gaze on him as he went back and forth in front of her for a while until he stopped. He rested his gaze on the smiling form of his girlfriend on the bed and looked at the necklace on her chest. His necklace. He went back to her face and stared once again at the smile of satisfaction. He frowned.

"I don't believe you…" he trailed off.

He turned around to face the standing form of her soul. Still nothing on her face.

"I don't believe you!" he repeated. "If you didn't care, you would have died! You hung on because you didn't want to die! Veronique said you went too far, but you could have kept going! The fact that you are here now proves it!"

"A mere delay."

"A one week delay? I don't believe that, you still care!"

"I do not. What held me back are my powers. I did not have a chance to pass them on. I do not care."

"Argh!" Squall exclaimed throwing his arms to the ceiling.

He lowered his head and thought for a moment. His face changed once he was struck with an idea. Staring straight ahead of him, his face was now showing determination.

"I'll make you care…" he whispered.

She remained quiet and did not look as if the sentence bothered her.

"Quistis briefed me when she came to get the tray earlier. The airship is hovering over the Calm Lands for now and everyone is scattered around. It's not moving for the time being, but surely once everyone is back on board…"

He turned his head to her to check her reaction but saw none.

"I'll go up to the deck and stand on the edge of the ship. When it starts moving, the burst should be enough to make me fall off. Do you know how high we are right now? I'll never survive the landing."

"Squall…"

Although her voice was devoid of emotion, to hear her say his name only reinforced his determination.

"If you really don't care anymore and want to die, I'll follow you. I know you enough to know you don't want that! And if that's really not enough to force you back, then I don't want to keep living anymore anyway!"

"Squall, after Rinoa, you found me. You can find someone else."

"I don't want someone else! I want my sorceress! I want you!"

He stopped a second realizing what she said. She was attempting to convince him otherwise, she was caring!

"My mind is made up. I have no idea when the others are scheduled to return but once they are, the airship will surely move. When it does, I'll fall off unless you come stop me. And if anyone else than you comes to stop me, I'll jump off!"

"Squall, don't be ridiculous…" she said in a slightly different tone.

He went to the chair to grab his jacket and put it on before heading for the door, always traced by the girl. He stopped in front of the door.

"I'll be on the deck."

"Don't…"

"I'll be waiting for you, so if you go there, you'll find me."

He turned to her and flashed her a smile. A last smile.

"But if you don't, I'll go to you. I promise."

Not waiting for her to add anything, he walked out the door in a quick pace despite his weakened state. His steps resonated in the hall until the door closed on its own and Carole turned to her body a moment, staring at it.

"What is this…?" she wondered. "I thought I lost all feelings when I lost my body…"

The door opened again and Carole turned around to see who it was, catching herself hoping for half a second it was Squall who came back. But it was Kerry. She stepped in with her head down and her hands joined together on the front of her uniform's skirt. She did not seem to notice the standing form of her mentor in the corner. Something overcame Carole when she caught sight of her. Something she once again did not think she could feel anymore: relief.

Kerry walked to the bed and stood in front of it, looking at Carole's unconscious face.

"C-chan… I didn't think Squall would ever leave, but since he did, I thought I'd come in…"

She lowered her head, shutting her eyes tightly. Her face was twisted with pain and sorrow.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed with sobs in her voice. "This… this would never have happened to you if I had moved away! You can't die, please! I'm sorry!"

Carole closed her eyes and suddenly vanished.

"K-chan…"

Kerry's crying came to an abrupt stop at the sound of the familiar voice and nickname. She brought her head up towards the bed and stared with wide opened eyes at Carole, watching her sit up and give her a frown.

"Don't you dare feel responsible for my own actions," she scolded. "I already told you that."

"C-chan!" Kerry exclaimed throwing herself at her mentor.

She wrapped her arms around her and held on tightly, crying with relief as Carole gladly returned her embrace. Feeling the warmth build up inside her, she cursed herself a moment. She could not believe she was ready to give up on this feeling.

"I'm sorry I scared you, K-chan. But you know me: if it happens again, I'll do it again."

"I'll try harder, I promise! So it doesn't happen again!"

Carole smiled.

"I know you will."

Kerry slowly released her embrace and moved back a little.

"Everyone will be so relieved! Not to mention Squall."

"Squall!"

Carole jumped to her feet with fear replacing the joy she previously had on her face. Wondering what has gotten into her, Kerry stepped aside and stared at her. Carole turned to her and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Kerry, I want you to do something for me, it's very important!"

"Yes, of course!"

"Run to the bridge and make sure the airship DOES NOT MOVE! Got it? At any cost, it must NOT move!"

"O…okay!"

Not willing to make her mentor wait, Kerry dashed towards the door but before she went through, Carole stopped her.

"Wait! Don't tell anyone I'm awake yet, okay? I'll come to the bridge myself in a short while."

"Alright!"

Kerry disappeared through the door and Carole heard her steps fade in the distance. She ran outside the room herself and looked left and right to figure where she was inside the airship. Once she figured out which way to go, she started running. She was momentarily surprised that her legs carried her without any troubles at all. Even though she spent a whole week in a bed she did not feel weak at all. She was not tired, she was not hungry, and her legs were not sore from her prolonged inaction. She was running across the halls, heading for the upper level, not bothering who she was passing or even noticing if anyone was there. The only thing on her mind was to stop Squall from doing something stupid.

When she reached the elevator, she rode it up to the surface and immediately set her eyes on the familiar black form of her boyfriend standing at the exact opposite of the airship. He was looking towards her and she closed the distance between the two of them in a few quick steps. He smiled when he noticed the fear and concern on her face.

"Come on, Squall, get away from there!" she called, her hand reached out to him.

She could easily see he was weakened and she feared that a sudden gust of wind might throw him off.

"You come here," he asked.

She got closer to him. Close enough so that when he raised a hand, he could rest it on her cheek and not get through this time. He cupped the side of her face in his hand, pressing it there.

"I wanted to make sure…" he whispered.

She closed her eyes from the touch, but quickly remembered their precarious position. She had faith that Kerry delivered her message, but she was not about to take any chances. She grabbed Squall and easily pulled him backwards towards the elevator. Once she thought they would be safe, she threw her arms around his neck, almost making him lose his balance. He gladly hugged her back as well, burying his face in her hair.

"Were you really gonna do that?" she asked in a hoarse tone.

"Yes. If you were ready to die in this world, I would have died here with you."

"Squall, you fool…"

She moved backwards just enough to grab his face and press her lips against his. He kissed her back a moment, then broke the embrace.

"What made you come back?" he inquired.

"Kerry. She came in the room right after you left and started apologizing, saying it was her fault."

"I should have known," Squall said with a smirk. "You hate when people apologize on your account."

"I couldn't just die and let her live thinking I died because of her!"

"She must have been so relieved. She hasn't been the same since that day. Very quiet, staying out of sight, out of the way."

Carole shook her head disapprovingly.

"Well I'll have to set her straight then!"

She headed towards the elevator but before she could reach it, Squall grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him to hug her again.

"I really thought I lost you…" he said with a trembling voice.

She hugged him back once more and this time, she noticed how frail he had become in a single week. The fact that he ate nothing and barely slept at all put together with the fear and stress made it worse. He put a hand behind her head and kissed her again. This time though, as he did, he felt something enter his mind and nest itself there. Something familiar, that he thought broken a week ago. He moved his head back and put a hand on top of it.

"The link, I can feel it again."

"I restored it," she said with a smile. "I need my knight."

"And I need my sorceress."

He gave her another light kiss and hand in hand, they took the elevator down. As they made their way to the bridge, Carole looked at Squall.

"You really look awful, you know that?" she said with concern in her voice.

"Ah, well I haven't eaten or slept in a week," he explained. "But I feel a little refreshed now actually."

"I gave you a little boost," she told him with a playful smile. "But you need to eat and rest, it's only temporary."

"I will the moment we reassure everyone. I'm too happy to have you back to do anything else right now anyway."

They got through the hall leading to the bridge and past Auron, still leaning against the wall there. He slightly looked up and grinned seeing the couple and nodded approvingly.

"Check it out, it's amazing!" Tidus' voice came from the bridge.

"Wonder what's got him so excited," Carole wondered.

The door opened and they both stepped on the bridge but they were not noticed right away. Tidus was standing in the middle brandishing a sharp new sword with a blue blade, but it was quite different from Brotherhood. Everyone present had their eyes on him and his sword. Not many people were there at the moment though.

"I can feel the power coming from it, it's amazing! The chocobo trainer gave me a sigil once I had run the whole damn course and it seemed to react to the sword. So I headed into Macalania woods to that weird thing that turned that clouded mirror we found into another mirror, and they all reacted along with that crest I had! The potential of the sword has been completely unlocked, and it feels incredible! Light as a feather, sharp as a razor… it's like it's an extension of my own arm, or a close friend!!!"

"Eager to try it out?" Carole interrupted his enthusiastic tirade with a playful smile on her face.

Tidus froze and widened his eyes recognizing the voice. Kerry was on the side and turned her head to the couple with a wide smile. All eyes turned to Carole but none said a word. They only smiled with relief. Tidus slowly turned around and when he caught sight of the girl smiling at him, he dropped the brand new sword he was holding and ran to her. Squall slightly moved to the side to give him some room when he threw his arms around her to embrace her tightly.

"He…hey," Carole complained putting her hands on his arms. "You make it look like I was gonna die or something."

She had a playful tone, but she felt that same warmth from Tidus as she felt from Kerry. Overflowing relief and joy to see that she was alive and well.

"You idiot…" he whispered only for her to hear. "I'm the one who'll vanish at the end, not you…"

Hearing this, Carole felt her throat squeeze and she held on Tidus as well.

"Don't talk about that, okay?" she asked in a whisper just as low. "Just… don't…"

The door opened and the two broke apart to see a couple of the SeeDs walk in. Zell was covered with burnt marks and his hair was all messy.

"Ugh, I swear! I bet I glow in the dark with all that electricity!" he exclaimed.

"Never thought you'd manage to dodge two hundred thunder bolts," Seifer teased him. "Well, you didn't dodge them all, hahaha."

"Took me a couple tries, but I got their damn memento!"

"You need to wash up," Rachel said with a chuckle.

Being the first one who noticed the leading couple was on the bridge, Seifer froze.

"Hey!" he let out.

In a same movement, they all followed his gaze and spotted their leaders as well.

"Oh my god!" Zell exclaimed.

Rachel left his side to ram her sister. She started clinging to her.

"Don't you ever do that again, you hear me!?" she screamed in a mixture of anger and relief. "You stupid fool! What would I have said to our parents and our brothers if you had died!?"  
"Sorry, sis. I'm really sorry."

Rachel hugged Carole tightly, shaking against her as she cried with relief.

Another group showed up at that moment and also caught sight of the awakened sorceress. Everyone rejoiced and talked about what they were to do next, what they found and how they might be able to defeat Sin with all those new powerful weapons they found. Yuna had even found another aeon in an abandoned temple on the outskirts of the Calm Lands. With all the excitement in the air and everyone talking at the same time, Squall started staggering, cutting everything short.

"Whoa man, you okay?" Zell inquired.

Next to him, Carole wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him steady.

"I'm tired…" he said in a low tone reaching a hand to his face.

"No wonder, you haven't slept in a week!" Rinoa pointed out.

"Go get some rest," Quistis advised. "I'll get you some food too."

"There are still some things left we can do," Yuna assured. "Get some sleep and then we will all take care of Sin."

Squall nodded, his eyes half shut. Staying close to him and not letting go, Carole started heading towards the door, pulling him along.

"I'll take him there," she told them.

"Get some rest yourself while you're at it," Adam suggested. "Then you can both eat something."

"Sure. See you guys later."

They slowly made their way back to the room they had been staying in for a week. Carole was almost carrying Squall there.

"I guess it sunk in once I stopped worrying about you," he explained as they reached the room.

"You need some sleep."

They entered the room and the moment the door closed behind them, Squall rose up, looking just fine with the exception of the purple bags under his eyes and his curved in cheeks. He did not look tired anymore, and that surprised Carole. Even more so when he grabbed her and pulled her close to give her a hungry kiss.

"What the… You were faking?" she exclaimed with surprise when he stopped.

Not answering, he moved his lips to her neck, putting light kisses on the soft skin. She felt a heat wave overcome her but still held on to the situation.

"Squall, what are you doing?"

"Do you feel that? Can you feel it?" he asked in a soft whisper that made her shiver with delight.

"No, wait, you're not in shape…" she tried to object in a tone that seriously lacked conviction.

He silenced her with another kiss and undid the button on the bottom of her jacket.

"I'm fine… I just want to feel you…"

She had to admit she missed his gentle touch and she welcomed it. Wrapping her arms around him, stroking his hair, she gave herself up in his embrace.

On the bridge, Veronique opened her eyes with a little chuckle.

"What?" Wakka inquired turning to her.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to make sure those two were gonna be okay," she said with a wide playful smile "We'll have to leave them alone for a while, they can really use the rest."

"No kidding, Squall looked like crap," Zell stated.

_Only looked, hehehe._ Veronique thought.

"How about we check out that dungeon I told you about?" she asked with that playful smile still on her face.

_A/N: I have finished the game and took all the notes I need to finish this story at last! After almost 6 years, It's coming to an end! Thanks to those who stuck with me for so long and to the new ones who discovered this story through and came back. Thanks a lot to Ric Leonhart, my editor. If it wasn't for me writing this story, we would never have met. I'll be adding you to the FFX-2 sequel and I'm getting eager to start it… Although I wonder if I should now… See you all in the next chapters!_


	33. Chapter 32: Sin

**Chapter 32: Sin**

After a few more days of preparation and resting, everyone was finally ready. Some were eager, some were a little worried or scared, while others were simply getting impatient from postponing the fight for so long. Some took it easy to be sure they would be at their best, while others could not stay in place and do nothing. So the new dungeon pointed out by Veronique turned out to be a nice place to blow off some steam. It was a deep and ancient dungeon filled with large and dangerous fiends. Perfect for restless SeeDs.

"One of these days, you're gonna get yourself killed," Squall told Zell as they made their way back into the airship and headed towards the bridge.

He looked a lot better than he did a few days ago. He ate and slept enough to make the purple circles around his eyes fade away.

"Come on, I completely trust you!" Zell replied with a wide smile. "With you watching my back, I knew nothing would happen to me!"

"Yeah, I was watching your back alright. It's your front I'm worried about," Squall said, grinning.

Zell chuckled and the two stepped on the bridge, immediately getting the present people's attention. Yuna was there with Rikku and Wakka on one side while Kerry was standing on the other with Adam and Rachel. Cid seemed busy talking to Brother about something. Rachel shook her head, sighing when she saw Zell, and went over to him.

"What did you do?" she asked looking at him suspiciously from top to bottom.

"What do you mean?"

Her nose flinched and she frowned in disgust.

"Eww, you stink!"

"Malboro," Squall told her with a smile of amusement.

That single word explained it all. Rachel forced Zell to turn around and started pushing him towards the door with swift pushes as to not leave her hands on him for too long.

"Go wash up! Now! You're like a damn kid, can't stay clean for a whole day!"

"Okay, okay, geez! You sound like my mom…"

"Shut up!"

Squall could not help but laugh. And he was not the only one either; Kerry had a wide smile on her face. Adam was also laughing at this while Yuna covered her mouth to hide her own amusement. Once Zell and Rachel left the bridge, Squall took another look around.

"Where's Carole?" he asked turning to Kerry.

He figured she would be the first one to know. After Carole had awakened, Kerry had been all over her, like she always was.

"She's on the deck with Veronique and Rinoa," Adam told.

"Sorceress training!" Kerry quickly added, a little disappointed to have been beaten to the news.

"Oh, and how long have they been at it?"

"Couple hours."

The SeeD leader nodded approvingly.

"Hey, but shouldn't you have known that?" Adam asked. "What about that link you have?"

Squall put a hand on his hip and looked at him. Even though Adam was Rinoa's knight, he did not get the basic idea of it. He did not wish to understand how it worked; he knew he was helping Rinoa and that was good enough for him. She made it work, and that was all he needed to know.

"Carole holds the power," Squall explained. "If there is something she doesn't want me to know, she can block it from me. She holds the control over everything."

"So what does that make you? A tool?"

Closing his eyes and sighing, Squall realized Adam was clearly not the one who came up with the word "tact". He had to wonder every now and then what Rinoa saw in that guy anyway. Before he could think up anything to reply to that, words echoed in Squall's mind.

_You're not a tool. You're my knight and I love you._

The sudden smile that appeared on his face brought curiosity to the others.

"What is it?" Rikku inquired.

"Nothing," Squall said shaking his head. "Carole knows I'm back. Might as well go up to the deck now."

He turned around.

"See you guys later."

He past Auron leaning against the wall in the hall as usual, and Squall tipped his head at him politely. Auron did not do anything in return. As usual. On his way to the deck, Squall walked past Irvine and Selphie playing cards with Seifer and Audrey on the floor. Some of the Al Bhed passengers were gathered around them, curiously watching them play.

Once he rode the elevator to the deck and walked outside, Squall spotted the three sorceresses standing there. Veronique was hovering over the ground and a bit to the side, Rinoa had her wings out, bringing a frown to Squall's face as he wondered what it was about. Carole was facing the two of them, standing there, looking normal.

His arrival got the others' attention.

"Hey, no knight!" Veronique objected, sulking.

"Relax, he's not here because I called him," Carole explained. "He just came back from the dungeon and was looking for me, that's all."

"Wow, your link really is strong," Rinoa figured, impressed.

"Well it has been broken once, I guess it's gotten stronger," Squall supposed, shrugging.

"Hum, actually…" Rinoa started.

Veronique landed and Rinoa put her wings away, turning to Squall with a serious look on her face.

"I was just getting to that with Carole, so you might as well hear it too."

"Okay?"

He folded his arms and waited.

"Your link did not break, Carole removed it."

"What's the difference?" Squall asked.

"She almost died, so the link could have broken at that moment. However, if that had happened, you would have died too."

Carole widened her eyes in horror, staring at Rinoa. Squall was giving pretty much the same look.

"What?"

"Edea explained to me that the link between a sorceress and her knight is highly solid. It's very important for the sorceress so that she won't be crushed by her own powers. But it is a double-edged sword. By linking to a knight, the sorceress constantly shares part of her powers so the burden is not too heavy on her. It eventually makes its own place in the knight's mind and becomes a part of him. If the link is severed too abruptly, it causes a shock too big for the knight to bear and can either drive him mad or even kill him."

Shocked, Squall looked away.

"How long have you known that?" he asked in a low tone.

"Pretty much since I had my own training with Edea after we defeated Ultimecia."

"You were still with me at the time," Squall recalled.

"Yes. And that is the reason I waited until I got with Adam before I left you. I'm sorry, but I needed someone to be my knight and… my feelings for you were already different. I'm sorry, Squall."

Even though this was important information to know as a sorceress, Carole really wanted to be elsewhere at that moment. She felt awkward and could not help but feel a little twinge of jealousy squeeze at her insides. She looked at Veronique and upon seeing how fascinated the red headed girl seemed to be by her own feet; Carole figured she also felt out of place.

"It's in the past now," Squall said waving the uneasiness aside. "Why did I feel like my head was gonna split open when Carole removed the link, then? I didn't feel anything when you switched to Adam."

"That's because I did it slowly. I knew I risked hurting you and I didn't want that to happen. Carole was not aware of what she was doing; she did it on impulse. But it was still very sudden, that's why you felt pain. Something was removed from inside your mind after all."

"I see."

Biting her lip, Carole had a few questions of her own about the link.

"So if I hadn't removed the link, Squall would have died?"

"Hard to say. You were not linked for a long time when it happened, so I don't know."

Carole felt her heartbeat fastening up and she turned a distressed look to Squall who felt her distress and looked right back at her with a comforting smile. This seemed to ease her up a little.

"How about the opposite scenario?" Squall asked. "What if I get killed?"

Carole spun around to hide her fear. That question did cross her mind but she could not bring herself to ask it. She dreaded the possibility of losing Squall. She did not care about the consequences on her would it ever happen. She simply did not want to consider it happening. Rinoa also seemed reluctant to answer.

"Well… Then the part of the burden you carry will go back to her since she's the source of it. The shock will hit hard, but it will not have immediate consequences. She will have some time to find herself another knight before her burden becomes too heavy to carry on her own."

"Good," Squall said with a nod and a sigh of relief.

Carole spun around, chills running up her spine.

"Good!? How is me losing you good!?"

"I mean it's good that if I die, you will have time to find yourself another knight."

"I don't want another knight!" she not as much exclaimed as screamed with panic. "Not now, not ever!"

Veronique cleared her throat and quickly went for Rinoa.

"I think we've done enough for now," she told her in a whisper.

Rinoa nodded approvingly. She granted Squall a sorry look as Veronique grabbed her arm and both girls vanished without a trace.

Left alone with his girlfriend, Squall got closer to her. His head was slightly spinning from the emotions she was giving off, but he sustained it.

"Carole, be reasonable. You have strong powers, you need a knight."

"And I have you, that's all I need!"

"You have to consider I might not be around forever. I am a SeeD."

"So am I."

"And you know that the life of a SeeD is dangerous and full of risks. I can get killed any day."

"Stop saying that!" she begged him, throwing her arms around his back.

She buried her face in his neck and started trembling with fear. She also started crying so Squall stroked her hair gently.

"You have to consider getting another knight if I die."

"I don't want to! I can't consider life without you at all… Rinoa said it herself, our bond is a lot stronger that the one you and her shared in the past… I don't want to have that with someone else, ever! It's either you, or no one at all!"

Squall closed his eyes a moment and embraced her as well.

"So you rather start a killing spree after I'm gone because you're too stubborn to pick another knight?" he asked her in a soft whisper.

"I'd rather die…" she whispered back.

He grabbed her shoulders and roughly moved her away from him, staring into her eyes with anger in his. She was startled by him suddenly breaking the embrace, but she sustained his gaze, not intimidated.

"Don't you dare…" he started.

"You were ready to die to be with me, I'd do the same for you."

Closing his eyes and lowering his head, Squall sighed.

"I just love you so much…" she said with tears still in her voice.

"I know… I love you too."

He finally rose and gave her a warm smile that melted her.

"I guess I'll have to make sure I don't die then, huh?"

"You bet your ass," she replied with the start of a smile on her face. "I won't let you die anyway."

"I know that too."

He grabbed her hand and dragged her back inside the airship.

"What were you doing out there?" he asked once they were back inside.

"Veronique thought I would be able to do like her and hover, or fly. She said I did it when I fought Yunalesca."

"It's true, you were flying."

"I don't remember what happened exactly. It's all blurry in my head."

"You were not exactly yourself."

"That's what Rinoa wanted me to work on. I went berserk, but she said I gave off the same kind of energy as when I use a limit break, so she thinks I could probably summon it at will with a little practice."

"Sounds like a good idea to me. It was incredible, it would be a great asset if you could control it."

The couple walked past the card players Squall had passed earlier, and he noticed the crowd around them had slightly grown.

"Who's winning?" Squall asked casually.

"Me, me!" Selphie exclaimed throwing her arm up.

The Al Bhed around cheered at her, getting caught in the game fever.

"If she teaches them how to play, we're gonna leave something behind us when we go back, huh?" Squall asked Carole with a smile.

At first she smiled back, then something hit her and she lost that smile. Right away, Squall was overcome with distress for a few seconds until it vanished just as suddenly as it started. Frowning, he turned to the girl.

"What was that?" he asked.

She quickened her pace to get away from the crowd, Squall on her tail.

"Carole?"

She walked through a door into the next hallway and stopped on the other side. This hall was empty.

Arriving to her side, Squall placed a hand on his hip, staring at her.

"Feels like you already figured how to block things from me," he stated.

"It's the first thing I asked them to teach me…" she told in a whisper.

Squall sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

"What's going on? You were smiling a minute ago, what changed that?"

"It's… when you said we're gonna leave something behind us… I just got sad thinking we're not gonna see them again once we go back."

For some reason, Squall believed there was more to it than what she was letting out. At first he wanted to insist, but he decided otherwise.

"Look, when we go back, it will be after taking care of Sin. Spira will be at peace at last for the first time in a thousand years. We've made new friends and of course once we leave, we will miss them, but at least we'll know they will be all right."

She remained motionless for a moment, then nodded.

"You're right. No more pilgrimages, no more deaths. We will break the cycle."

"Exactly."

She slightly rose up, taking a deep breath.

"Let's go then!"

Everyone gathered on the bridge or stood in the hallway shortly after. It was finally time.

"Well, this is it, eh?" Cid figured standing in front of the blue globe.

"Yu Yevon's hiding somewhere inside Sin, and we're gonna find him," Tidus said.

"Well, that sounds pretty simple."

"Hey, simple is the way you like it, right?"

"He's not the only one," Squall added pointing at Zell.

"You got that right," Cid agreed in an amused tone.

"Pops!" Rikku called from one of the seats in the front of the bridge. "I'm countin' on ya!"

Cid walked around the globe to be able to see her.

"Right, got you covered!"

He walked over to a panel on starboard side, slightly crouching down over it while groaning, as though the effort was putting some strain on him. He tapped a few keys on the panel and the Hymn started resonating loudly through some speakers.

"How's that?" he asked turning to Rikku.

"Right on!" Rikku approved.

Looking ahead without focusing on anything specific, Yuna listened to the hymn with a hand to her chest. Nobody said anything for a while as the hymn filled the bridge with a tranquil atmosphere. Eventually, Lulu was the one to break the silence.

"A singing ship in the sky," the black mage trailed off, walking forward.

"I hope everyone got the message," Wakka said.

"Well it's been almost two weeks," Veronique pointed out. "Surely other people helped spread the word around."

"Hopefully," Tidus added.

Looking ahead of him, Brother suddenly shook his head, blinking repeatedly. All of the sudden he stood up, widening his eyes.

"Sin!" he exclaimed.

Everyone looked straight ahead to see that Spira's worst nightmare was hovering right in front of the airship, looking straight at it.

"Whoa!" Zell exclaimed. "How the hell could you not see that coming, man? It's freaking huge!"

"Nevermind, we're going in!" Tidus exclaimed, psyching up.

"How we gonna get inside?" Wakka wondered.

"The easy way!" Tidus answered turning to him with an obvious look on his face. "How else?"

Rikku left her seat and ran up to the others.

"Figures."

"Well?" Lulu urged. "Let's go!"

Tidus nodded and turned to Yuna who nodded as well. Everyone quickly ran outside the bridge.

"Hey, how you plan on getting inside?" Cid asked before Tidus could run out after the others.

The blonde stopped right in front of the door and turned his head.

"If we can't get through the mouth, we'll rip open a new one! You with me?"

Seeing he remained behind, Carole also stopped and waited for him. And then of course, Squall waited for her.

Cid burst into laughter from Tidus' carefree attitude for a moment. As he was laughing, Brother left the pilot seat and stared at his father.

"Now that's what I call a plan!" Cid said once he stopped laughing.

"Vydran! E ghuf fryd du ica!" Brother told.

"Aha! Of course!" Cid replied, figuring his son's idea.

"Of course!" Tidus agreed waving his arm out as he turned around.

"All right! We'll give that thing a new blowhole. All you gotta do is jump!"

"Roger!" Tidus approved raising a fist.

"I won't tell ya to be careful. Do your worst, kiddo!"

"Roger!" the blond said once more, pumping his fist in a psyching up gesture.

"Fyed!" Brother interfered raising a hand to catch attention.

Tidus widened his eyes in surprise, wondering what the Al Bhed had in mind as he cleared his throat.

"Rikku, you… guard," he asked him with some pronunciation difficulties.

Once the surprise wore off, Tidus nodded.

"Will do!" he promised.

He ran out to meet up with the couple waiting for him.

"Sorry to keep ya! Let's do this thing!"

The two nodded and they headed up the hall where they came across Rin, still selling items despite the situation. He was confident Sin would be defeated and believed that after this, they would be rebuilding Home, which would require some money. Although the three were a little astonished by this, they still replenished their stock, buying as much as they could carry. Better safe than sorry.

The trio caught up with the rest of the group up on the deck. Immediately, they could hear the echoes of the Hymn of the fayth being sung from below the clouds.

"I can hear the song!" Rikku exclaimed.

"Yes," Lulu confirmed. "I can hear the Hymn too." Everyone could hear it quite clearly.

"They listened to us!" Rikku exposed, joyful.

"We won't let them down!" Tidus promised.

While the SeeDs were making sure their junctions were good, their weapons ready and shared the items amongst themselves, Tidus took something out and turned to Yuna.

"Yuna? You don't need this anymore, right?" he asked showing her a sphere.

It was the one he picked up on the ground on Mount Gagazet, in which she was saying goodbye to everyone.

Troubled, Yuna put a hand over her mouth and started going through her stuff, embarrassed. She was hoping that this was not hers, but quickly figured she did not have it anymore.

"Right?" Tidus asked again.

He turned towards the sky and threw the sphere as far away as he could. Then he turned to Yuna and gave her a smile. She smiled back and nodded approvingly. All of a sudden, the airship started shaking dangerously.

"Hey, guys? Guys?" Wakka called. "That's not good, ya?"

Everyone turned towards Sin almost simultaneously to watch it build up an insane amount of energy in front of its mouth, sending shockwaves far around it. Everyone on the deck had to crouch down not to fall off.

"Hang on to something!" Squall exclaimed.

Surrounded in a large sphere of water, Sin slowly opened its mouth as the very scenery around it began to be affected. The water under it was forming chaotic waves and the clouds above it were gathering in a maelstrom with Sin at its center. Suddenly, the ball of energy was split in many separate balls that went flying in many directions, barely missing the airship. The energy balls dug tunnels in the water and into the ground as they kept going, seemingly unstoppable.

Then everything stopped. As if time itself stood still wherever those balls hit, nothing moved at all and everyone was holding his or her breath. Since the ship stopped shaking once the attack was unleashed, everyone slowly rose up to survey the damage. Everything was standing still. The clouds seemed to have been dug through as though they were as solid as the water and the earth. On the side, a large trail was left into the ground and into the water further.

First looking around, then at the trail, Rikku widened her eyes and opened her mouth in horror as time was set back in motion. The water came raging down into the trail with so much strength, the sheer force ploughed the ground towards the airship, creating massive shockwaves.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed.

Also witnessing this, Tidus spun around to get out of the way, but there was nowhere to run to. When the blast hit, the shock threw everyone down and even knocked out some of them. Many flaming trails were left by Sin's blast, deeply scarring the surface of Spira.

When Tidus came around shortly after, he looked up and spotted Sin's head right in front of the ship as if it was staring at them.

"Damn you, old man…" he trailed off in a whisper.

Others started coming around as well and quickly checked on each other to make sure everyone was unharmed. Except for the scare, everyone was quite fine.

"Hey!" Cid's voice resonated from the speakers. "I saw somethin' shine at the base of Sin's arm! I reckon it's a weak spot!"

As they were getting up, the airship started shaking violently once again, forcing everyone to crouch down not to lose their balance and fall off once more.

"Cruud!" Brother exclaimed in the speakers.

"Fryd, fryd?" Cid asked.

"Fa yna bimmat po Sin!"

"Sin's pulling us in!" Rikku translated.

"Crap!" Seifer let out.

"Everyone, back inside!" Cid recommended as Sin came approaching the side of the airship.

"Duu myda! Ed lusac!" Brother objected.

Sin has gotten closer to the ship but not enough so the direct melee fighters could reach it.

"Closer! Go closer!" Tidus called.

"Just a minute!" Cid replied in the speakers.

While Cid was getting the airship ready to move in, the range fighters took over. Wakka threw his brand new ball as hard as he could at a pulsing blue sphere located on Sin's arm, while Adam focused on shooting his arrows despite the movements of both the airship and Sin. Irvine also did his best to shoot from where he was, but his bullets did not do that much damage. The others were growing restless.

"Come on, come on!" Zell kept repeating, hopping around punching the air.

"Yeah!" Tidus agreed swinging his sword around.

"Hey, watch where you swing that thing!" Carole exclaimed with a chuckle. "There will be plenty of chances to use it."

By her side, Squall could not help but notice she did not take her gunblade out yet. Everyone had their weapons out, standing ready even though they could not reach the enemy yet, but she did not. As he was about to inquire the reason for this, she closed her eyes, slightly lifted her hands and…

"Whoa!" Tidus let out slightly jumping to the side.

She started levitating, just like Veronique. The red headed woman looked at her and grinned.

"Good! But if I were you, I wouldn't risk flying over there just yet," she advised pointing a thumb towards Sin. "Lose focus and you're gonna drop out of the sky!"

"I don't intend to fly over there," Carole assured with a smile. "I just wanted to have a higher point of view."

"For what?" Rachel asked unable to take her eyes off her.

"For this…"

She put her hands in front of herself and started gathering some energy. Her eyes turned red for the time the spell was released. She cast flare, causing a small explosion right on Sin's weak spot. Squall's upper lip slightly twitched upwards.

"Whoa…" he trailed off under his breath.

He actually felt the rush of magic go through him as she cast the spell. He knew she wanted to try and use her powers to help, and he also knew she was highly counting on his presence to help her with that.

She shut her eyes and when she opened them again, they had reverted back to brown. She turned her head to Squall, feeling his eyes on her and grinned widely. To that he gave her a light smile and nodded, silently encouraging her to keep going.

Settling down after the surprise, the others turned back towards Sin. Wakka threw his ball again and caught it when it bounced back to him. Adam and Irvine kept shooting and Lulu cast spells of her own.

"Don't be falling now!" Cid's voice resonated again.

Immediately, everyone crouched down not to fall as the airship moved closer to Sin. Flying right next to the arm, the airship was following Sin's pace to remain right next to it, as close as humanly possible.

Without hesitation, glad to finally take a shot at Sin, Zell dashed and punched into the pulsing blue sphere. It looked somewhat like a flower. It seemed to resist his punches pretty strongly. After his test shot, he ran back to the group to give them his opinion.

"That thing is damn hard!" he exposed, rubbing his fists. "I barely put a dent in it!"

"Step aside," Auron demanded as he ran through, brandishing his new sword.

He slashed with everything he had at the sphere, causing a shattering sound as though he had just broken something in pieces.

"That should settle it," he said in a neutral tone.

Knowing he had broken the natural protection of the sphere, everyone ran in to deal all the damage they could. Shaken by these annoying attacks, Sin slightly moved away and rammed the ship hard, causing it to shake roughly and forcing everyone on their knees not to be bounced off. The resulting shockwave did cause quite a fair amount of damage to everyone standing there, forcing the healers to spring into action.

Hovering over the ground, Veronique got close to no damage at all from Sin ramming the ship, just like Carole who was still a foot over the ground. Immediately, the young sorceress started flying amongst the others, healing their wounds with a single touch of her hand. The whole time, her eyes were red. Even so, nobody feared her anymore. They all smiled, thanked her, or nodded at her before running back to give Sin a little payback.

Tidus was going all out with his brand new sword. It was slashing through that sphere as if it was made of butter. When he slashed, Sin's arm started looking limp and it moved away from the airship.

"Here goes!" Cid warned. "Everyone, hold on to something! Here we go!"

Once the ship was far enough, two cannons looking just like the one used by the Al Bhed during Operation Mi'ihen came out from under the airship and pointed at Sin. Both shot a powerful blast simultaneously and together, they blew Sin's left arm clean off in a multitude of blue sparks. Everyone jumped up and cheered at the sight.

"Got it!" Tidus exclaimed closing his hand in a fist.

"Couldn't have done it without ya!" Cid assured as the ship moved around to Sin's other side. "All right! Everyone look sharp! Time to hit the other side!"

"Easy for you to say!" Rikku complained.

Psyched up by the first success, everyone was ready to keep going and convinced that they would succeed again. At least the SeeDs were.

The ship picked up the speed to get back to Sin's level. It was still a little far but the range fighters once again jumped in first. Eager to do his part again, Tidus called for Cid to bring the ship in closer. While it was getting ready, the mages went all out once more, not about to take it easy now.

Cid shouted a warning before moving in, giving everyone a chance to crouch down and brace themselves as the airship moved right next to Sin's other arm. The swordsmen all ran in and slashed to their heart's content. Carole also took out her gunblade to give it a shot, taking a break on casting spells. As she slashed at the blue pulsing sphere and pulled the trigger, a smile appeared on her face. Even though she was now a sorceress, her gunblade was still an important part of her and she still enjoyed using that a lot more than casting spells.

Sin rammed the side of the airship again, threatening to throw some of its passengers overboard, but everyone hung on. Once enough damage was dealt, Sin slightly moved away and the airship quickly moved to a safe distance as well.

"Nayto?" Cid asked in the speakers. "Vena!"

The twin cannons under the airship fired a powerful shot right at the base of Sin's arm, now vulnerable due to all the damage induced by the fighters. The arm was blasted right off once again and everyone on the deck started jumping up and cheering again.

"Yeehaw! Where next?" Cid asked, psyched up.

"Ed'c ujan," Brother told him in a sorry tone.

"Fryd? Fa ryja uhmo pakih!"

"Pid dra lyeh kih, ed ec pnugah!"

"Dr – dryd lyhhud pa!"

On the deck, Rikku took the responsibility of translating for everyone.

"The main gun's busted!" she exclaimed.

"Dang it! All right, back inside!" Cid's voice recommended again. "Time for another plan!"

Most SeeDs were about to object, too high on the adrenaline to want to quit now, but Tidus beat them to it.

"No!" he objected looking at the sky. "We're going in! Every blitzer knows: when you got the ball, you gotta score!"

Cheers of agreement exploded around him as Lulu came to his side and turned her head to him.

"A day with you is never dull!" she stated.

The airship was still keeping up with Sin and had started flying above it. Taking advantage of that position, Lulu ran to the edge of the ship and jumped off!

"Hey!" Tidus exclaimed running after her. "Star players first!"

He jumped off after her.

"They're all insane, I swear!" Rachel exclaimed with wide opened eyes.

But when Zell ran after the other two to jump off with a loud cheering scream, she sighed and followed suit, a large smile on her face.

Surfing down a cable was one thing, but jumping off the airship was a completely different matter. While the others were quickly following and jumping off, Kerry showed reluctance. Carole immediately noticed. Almost everyone had jumped off already.

"If you rather stay here, it's okay, K-chan," Carole assured her.

The girl shook her head strongly. She wanted to fight too, she wanted to play a part in this. With a smile, Carole extended her hand at her and Kerry immediately grabbed it.

"I'll try to make us land softly, just don't let go!"

"I won't!"

Seeing the matter was taken care of, Squall nodded and jumped ahead. Holding tightly on each other's hand, the girls went right after him. Kerry had faith in Carole, but she was still terrified of jumping off the airship so she kept her eyes closed.

Everyone landed on top of Sin, some looking brighter at it than others. Wakka landed heavily on his rear just like Rikku. Zell landed on his feet but had to make large movements with his arms to keep his balance. Selphie also ended up on her rear and Irvine helped her up immediately. The others all mostly landed on one foot and a knee while Veronique simply materialized by their side, choosing the easy way as usual. Carole has succeeded in focusing enough to break hers and Kerry's fall with some levitation.

Seeing everyone was unharmed, Tidus took out his sword and everyone followed his lead and ran in. They came face to face with a large lump of flesh sticking out from the surface of Sin, right in front of another and larger blue core.

When they approached it, curious, the lump started moving and opening up as a flower blossoming. The creature that appeared had two long arms with tentacles for fingers, protecting the core. Another one of Sin's spawns.

"Eww!" Selphie exclaimed with disgust.

"Let's cut those things off!" Tidus suggested as he ran in to slash.

Auron followed him closely, just like Squall, Carole, Seifer, Rachel, Kerry and Dave. The shooters were as always aiming carefully and waiting for an opening to deliver some damage themselves without endangering their companions.

With their newfound weapons, the guardians gained a lot of power and confidence. It really did not take long for the spawn to crumble in pyreflies. With nothing blocking their way anymore, the fighters ran straight into the fading pyreflies to reach the core behind it.

"Come on, people!" Tidus exclaimed. "Just a bit more!"

As they were finally starting to see the light at the end of this tunnel of fights, everyone seemed to find a little extra strength to summon from within to bring this one to a swift end as well. The blades were brandished, whips were cracked, nunchaku was swung, gun was loaded, and spells were readied. Everyone could feel the rush of adrenaline run through their veins, making them eager to strike.

Forming the front row as usual, the swordsmen all looked at each other and mentally agreed on the attack pattern to follow to make sure they would not be getting in each other's way while giving some room for the shooters to do what they did best.

Taking the lead, Auron went in and sent his energy into the blade before he slashed at the core. Upon impact, the natural shell was melted away, making it easier for everyone to cause damage, especially those who did not have any piercing effect to their weapons. Tidus gave his old mentor a thumb up and ran in after him to attack. He was still as energetic as ever, as though the three previous fights were nothing at all.

Weakening the core on each arm, making it possible to blast the arms off proved easier than any of them expected. Then jumping off the airship to land on top of Sin gave them quite a rush of adrenaline, making it even easier to defeat the pitiful spawn protecting the main core. And now they were facing said core, still under the influence of adrenaline. They had to be quick though. Once that natural drug would start wearing off, mistakes might start happening.

Knowing that the core was now defenceless, many ran towards it without any second thoughts. Rachel felt left behind a little while they were attacking the arms, so when Zell dashed towards the core to give it a good punch of his Ehrgeiz gloves, she ran on his tail. He grinned at her and jumped forward to give the core a good combo of punches and kicks. Holding her double edge axe, Rachel swung it backwards and used all her weight to swing it back to the front across the core. Quistis and Dave followed close behind. Quistis cracked her whip just as Dave gave a two-handed swing of his katana. At the same moment, the core started shaking, the "petals" jerking around menacingly.

The ones who had just attacked suddenly gritted their teeth and stopped moving altogether.

"What the hell?" Zell let out in a painful tone.

Rachel dropped to her knees and eventually collapsed to her front, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Ugh… I can't… move…"

"Rachel!" Carole exclaimed stepping forward.

"Stay back!" Dave objected as he also dropped to a knee, sticking his sword into the surface of Sin's flesh to try and stay up.

By his side, Quistis also collapsed to the ground, unable to stay standing under the intensity of the strength pressing on her.

The others stood there and could only watch, helpless, as their comrades were being crushed by a strong gravity modifying attack. Everyone was clenching their fists, trying to resist the urge to jump in and try to help. They all knew it would be pointless as they would all succumb under the effect as well.

The seconds seemed to drag on forever. Eventually, unable to take the pressure anymore, Dave collapsed as well. Despite both his great stamina and endurance, Zell collapsed as well.

"I have to do something!" Carole exclaimed.

Squall turned his head towards her, watching her carefully to make sure she would not do anything rash.

"Just because you have more power doesn't mean you have to use it every time someone is in trouble, Carole."

She turned to him and for half a second, her eyes flickered.

"What good are they, then?"

Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, Squall squeezed a little harder than usual, trying to soothe her. Her shoulders dropped and she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened them again. She nodded a few times.

"You're right, of course…"

She turned her head back towards her friends in pain and placed a hand in front of her face, focusing some magic. She threw her hand forward, unleashing a white light all over her friends, healing some of the pain they were given.

"I don't have to rush in to help, I can do it from right here."

"Exactly," Squall approved with a smile.

Following her lead, Yuna also cast Curaga on the four. Nobody had noticed Veronique was missing until she suddenly appeared right over the core. She was in the safe spot, not getting into the range of the gravity attack. She started cracking her whip repeatedly at the core, trying to distract it.

"Will you leave them alone, already!?"

Whether she succeeded or the attack simply came to an end, the four on the ground unclenched eyes and teeth and started getting up. Immediately, the others ran in to take over while Yuna healed them some more. They showed no wounds, but they were exhausted. Carole pulled her sister away.

"The one time I go in before you and I get crushed," Rachel stated with a grimace.

"Hey, if I had gone in first, I would have been the one to get crushed just as much. It's not because it's you," Carole replied with a wink. "Now let's give it some payback!"

Rachel's face twisted in a grin and she ran back towards the core, her sister on her tail.

Every time they had a clear shot, the ranged fighters did their part. They were the one who had it tougher. The direct melee fighters were simply going at it, slashing and hitting to their heart's content without having to worry about anything else. They were simply making sure they were not getting in each other's way. The ranged fighters had to check twice and be quick at shooting without risking injuring anyone else by accident.

Spinning her nunchaku around, Selphie swung it hard at the core. As she stepped back to give Irvine a clear line to shoot, the petals started jerking around again. Not everyone had the time to notice it and back away. This time, Tidus, Selphie, Kimahri and Seifer dropped to a knee when the gravity around them suddenly changed drastically.

"Ugh!" Seifer let out clenching his teeth.

"Hang in there, guys!" Veronique encouraged as she went around the gravity zone to keep attacking the core.

The shooters did not dare attack through the gravity field, worried that their projectiles might suffer the effect as well and fall all over the four trapped inside it.

In an attempt to make this more bearable, Yuna threw in some healing and Carole followed her lead as well. When gravity reverted back to normal, the victims of the attack quickly rose and ran towards the core, eager to finish it once and for all.

Waiting for an opening, Kerry swung her daggers back, leaning forward. Once the way was clear, she dashed in. She slashed upwards with one of her daggers, and the other one quickly followed. While she would usually step back after this two hits combo to give others some room, this time she spun around on herself and stretched her arm backwards to stab into the core. She twisted the dagger into the wound as she turned back around to face the core again. Then she pulled it out in a swift and firm single movement. Once the dagger came out, the core started jerking and all the petals started crumbling upon the core similar to a wilting flower. Then the core exploded.

"Alright, K-chan!" Carole cheered throwing a fist up in the air.

Kerry quickly sheathed her daggers and looked at her mentor with shining eyes, pride showing on her face.

"I did it!"

While everyone sheathed their own weapons, the surface started trembling menacingly, making a few lose their balance.

"Whoa, what the hell!?" Zell exclaimed spreading his feet and opening his arms in an attempt to remain standing.

Looking around, everyone noticed with horror that they were losing altitude. With the main core destroyed, Sin started plummeting down towards Bevelle.

"We're falling!" Rikku screamed.

"The airship!" Squall pointed out.

The airship was approaching fast and started hovering dangerously close to Sin.

"Get on, now!" Auron advised as he ran towards the edge of Sin and jumped onto the deck of the airship.

Tidus grabbed Yuna's hand and pulled her along to do the same. Kimahri followed close behind along with Wakka, Lulu and Rikku. Veronique simply vanished to reappear on the deck. Squall followed not even a second after, his girlfriend, the SeeDs and the rest of their friends not waiting to be told before doing the same thing. Everyone collapsed to the ground, trying to hang on to the surface of the airship as it quickly moved away from Sin. The gargantuan monster crashed down on the surface of Spira at the outskirts of Bevelle, traced in horror by the town's citizens. A large cloud of dirt and dust was blown around upon Sin's crashing. Everyone on the airship rose up once it reached a safer altitude. They looked down to the ground as the dust settled down.


	34. Chapter 33: Busting through

**Chapter 33: Busting through**

On the bridge, Brother could hardly remain still.

"Vydran! E lyhhud pameaja fryd e caa!" he said, in shock.

"Pameaja ed, cuh! Drao'ja tuha ed! Ed ec rybbahehk!" Cid replied to him, psyched.

Rikku arrived on the bridge, Yuna right behind her.

"Rikku, aqlamahd!" Brother exclaimed at his sister.

She raised an arm up in the air, psyched, hopping a little. Yuna did not seem to share her enthusiasm. She looked thoughtful.

"It's going to come back, isn't it?" she asked, although her tone made it sound more like a statement rather than a question.

Tidus arrived behind her at that moment and walked past her to get ahead.

"I know."

"What?" Cid exploded, spinning around to the youth. "You're kidding me!"

The others all made their way back to the bridge as well. Once again, some remained in the hallway due to the limited space. None of them seemed surprised to hear those words. They knew it was not over yet.

Tidus turned around

"No!" he said, replying to Cid's exclamation. "We have to beat the guy inside Sin."

"The Crusaders would be out of a job if it was that easy, ya." Wakka pointed out.

"Hey it crashed, so it's bound to have weakened up, right?" Veronique asked, standing by her brother.

Rikku ran to the other side of the bridge, traced by everyone.

"Yeah, we're winning!"

"All right," Cid agreed. "I'll do what I can with the main gun!"

Cid walked out of the bridge as Yuna lowered her head for a few seconds, lost in her thoughts. Then she turned around and left as well. Squall advised for everyone to relax a little and prepare for the next battle. It was bound to start soon. When he noticed Yuna was gone, Tidus left the bridge as well to go after her.

Now that the immediate battle was over, the adrenaline rush quickly faded away. As it faded, some of the SeeDs were showing signs of weariness. As the leader he was forcing himself to be, Squall tried not to show it himself, but he was also getting tired. They could take a little break but none could really afford to sleep, yet. Sin crashed into the ground, but was not defeated. Everyone knew it would rise again and they had to be ready for it.

"Let's get some food," Quistis suggested. "It should help us restore some energy."

"Good idea," Squall approved with a nod. "But don't eat too much. A full stomach will make you tired anyway."

Most walked out to go grab themselves something to eat. Squall was thinking about getting some as well and he was about to ask Carole if she was hungry, but he found her missing. Frowning, he looked around but saw no traces of her.

"Now where did she go this time?" he wondered under his breath.

He tried to concentrate and find out if he could sense her, or if she blocked him from her mind again. A smile showed up on his face as he did sense her. He left the bridge to go where he believed he would find her.

The blonde guardian found the young summoner on the deck. The airship was slowly circling over Bevelle.

"I wonder if Sir Jecht is in pain," Yuna said as Tidus got closer to her.

"Let's just end this… quickly. The fayth said they'd help us, right?"

"It bothers me, the way they said that."

"Huh?"

Yuna reached a hand to her chest, clenching it slightly.

"I mean, they've been fighting alongside us this whole time, but now they say they'll help?"

"I guess so…" Tidus trailed off a little uneasy.

"Wait!"

Joining her hands together on the front of her skirt, she placed an interrogative look on her friend.

"Sin is reborn when Yu Yevon merges with an aeon, isn't that right? If I summon an aeon, Yu Yevon will join with it. But at first, it'll be small won't it?"

"Yeah…" Tidus agreed. "Then, we might be able to defeat it without the Final Summoning."

"I don't know. What if Yu Yevon jumps again?"

"Then we'll take it down again!" Tidus answered with confidence. "We'll fight him until there's no place left to run!"

Staring ahead of herself, Yuna ended up turning her head and reaching a hand to her chest once more.

"I never thought it would come down to this."

"Yeah, I know," the blitzer said. "Hey, the fayth, they're tired of this whole thing, too. Let's let them rest."

"The fayth said it's pointless to keep dreaming," Yuna recalled referring to the encounter in the temple of Bevelle. "The dream will disappear, he said. What did he mean? And what is it that Yu Yevon is summoning from within Sin?"

"The dream of the fayth," Tidus answered without hesitation.

"You won't…" Yuna started, lowering her head as her voice was suddenly filled up with concern. "Go away, will you?"

Then two things suddenly happened, interrupting the conversation. The elevator came up, carrying Carole with it. Just as she stepped onto the outer deck, Rikku's voice started resonating in the speakers.

"Yunie! Guys! Come look! Something's happening to Sin!"

Intrigued by her panicked tone, Yuna, Tidus and Carole hurried to the edge of the ship to take a look down. From where it previously crashed, Sin rose up slightly, arching its back. Four large white wings spread out from its back. Sin pushed itself off the ground, taking off. It went up a little and landed on the tower of the central building of Bevelle, like some sort of preying bird. The airship circled around it, allowing the three standing on the deck to get a good look. Yuna put a hand to her chest while Tidus was frowning. Carole could not take her eyes off the monstrosity.

"Can this thing be stopped at all?" she started wondering.

It seemed that no matter what they would do, Sin would always rise again.

"Yes it can," Tidus assured. "We'll do it!"

He turned to his female companions and nodded at them.

"Let's go."

Nodding as well, Yuna headed towards the elevator and Tidus followed her. When he realised Carole was not following him, he signalled for Yuna to go ahead. Granting him a little smile, she nodded again and disappeared back inside the airship. Once he found himself alone with the sorceress, he stared at her back. He was still trying to find signs that she might have been different. As far as he could tell, she was still the same as she was when they met on the island of Besaid. If anything was different, it was that the girl had gotten more inner struggles to deal with along the way.

"Hey…" he started.

She spun around to him, startled. Tidus arched an eyebrow.

"I thought you had gone back inside," she explained his curious look. "You can go, I'll come in a moment."

She grabbed her forearm in her hand, clenching it slightly and staring ahead of herself. Tidus noticed traces of pain on her face before she turned.

"So you don't want to be around me for the short time I have left?"

She suddenly went stiff and clenched her forearm tighter.

"I knew it," Tidus stated.

Carole turned her head further to hide the tears that started to flow.

"I thought… maybe if I didn't look at you so much and avoided you for a while, it would be less painful… when the time comes."

What she had seen and heard together with Tidus as he came into contact with the wall of fayth on Mount Gagazet was eating her up. She managed to block it from Squall but she was having more and more trouble not letting it show on her face that she was troubled.

"You really believe that?" Tidus inquired getting a little closer to her.

"No, I don't!" she exclaimed spinning around to face him.

Her face bore trails of tears and her eyes betrayed fear. She shook her head strongly.

"I just don't understand how you can be so calm about it…"

"Well…" Tidus started as he came to her side, looking ahead towards Sin. "I know it's not gonna be in vain. It's not like I'm throwing my life away or anything and I'm not exactly eager to disappear either. But I'll disappear so Yuna doesn't die and there won't be anymore pilgrimages requiring more sacrifices in the future."

She closed her eyes to think. She could detect in his tone that he was accepting what was going to happen. He was accepting his fate.

"I see your point," she admitted. "But it's just so sad… so unfair…"

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, making her turn her face to him once again. He was showing her a warm smile as well, hoping to cheer her up.

"I'll say the same thing Yuna said: I want my journey to be full of laughter. You're so full of life, being like that doesn't suit you. Cheer up, show me that pretty smile of yours. I want to take it with me when I go. I don't want to have any regrets…"

The pain struck her throat and her lower lip trembled under her effort to hold the sobs in. Eventually, she stopped fighting them and threw herself at Tidus. She gave him a tight hug, clenching his yellow jacket. He responded to her embrace and could not help but smile a little, seeing how devastated she was over his upcoming disappearance.

Carole was not looking forward to the moment they would all go home. Although she was missing her friends and family who remained behind, she knew she would never have a chance to see any of the friends they made in this world again. But even if they were to see them again, Tidus would not be there anymore… he would be gone.

Suddenly, she brought her head up and locked her eyes on his, startling him.

"What are you…?" he started.

The surprise on his face slowly turned into a frown as he felt something strange inside his head. He could sense some energy emanating from the girl. He tried to look away but he found himself unable to. It made him nervous but after a minute, Carole settled down and closed her eyes, sighing.

"I don't even know what I'm doing…" she whispered. "If only I had time to train more…" she trailed off in a sorry tone.

"What were you hoping to do?"

"Make you real…"

The blond showed a wide smile of joy.

"Aw, that's very nice of you. But what is real, anyway? Something you can touch? You're touching me right now, aren't you?"

"Well… yeah, but…"

"Look I appreciate the effort, but don't overdo it, okay? Who knows, if you try too hard you might actually do worse, like make me disappear faster."

She widened her eyes in horror and broke away from him fast. She noticed the playful look on his face and figured he was only teasing her, but she had to admit there was still some truth behind his words. She had no clue what she was doing; she could very well make things worse. But the sorceress could not shake off the feeling that if she had more time, she just might be able to do something. Like study the fayth, figure out the kind of power or energy they were giving off, go check the wall again and perhaps take all that knowledge and figure out how it was all linked to Tidus and then perhaps do something about that.

"I'm counting on you to help," he stated, suddenly looking serious again. "On all of you," he added when the elevator sounded behind him again.

Carole spun around to face her back on the elevator as she quickly wiped the tears off her face.

"Come on, you two," Squall called from the elevator. "I think we gave Sin enough time to rest now."

"Yeah," Tidus approved as he walked back after a last look at Carole.

Squall traced him and he frowned suspiciously at him when the blond stepped unto the platform to go back down.

After taking a deep breath, Carole turned back around and walked towards Squall, avoiding a direct look into his eyes. Not moving an inch, he traced her as well when she walked past him to get on the platform when it came back up empty.

"Let's do this, then," she said.

Before she could step on it, Squall grabbed her arm. He did not pull her to him, and did not say anything. He simply stopped her.

"What are you blocking from me this time?" he asked.

He was not supposing she was hiding something, he was implying it. He knew.

She hesitated a moment, standing still. When she turned a fake smile to him, he frowned even more.

"I can't tell you…" she said shaking her head. "It's too hard."

"Carole, that's the whole point. I'm your knight, am I not?"

"Of course, you are."

"My task is not only to fight by your side and support you. It's part of my job to help with what's happening in here too," he said tapping her forehead. "Open up to me, let me try."

She lowered her head. He started to feel a wave of fear and apprehension coming from her.

"Don't keep it in, it's not going to do you any good. Share it with me."

Putting her eyes back on him, her shoulders dropped and so did her guard. She gave up.

"I can't say it, it's too hard but… I'll show you…"

Squall nodded, ready. Carole got closer to him and hugged him. He hugged her back and waited. He closed his eyes and slowly, images appeared in his mind. Time ceased to exist as his brain processed the information Carole shared with him. He saw and heard the same thing she had seen and heard when she touched Tidus after he passed out by the Wall of fayth. Everything the fayth revealed that Carole had learned, Squall now learned too. Once the images died out, Carole's legs became a little uncertain and Squall had to tighten his grip around her so she would not collapse. He helped her kneel on the ground and he kneeled down in front of her. She placed her palms on the ground and kept her head low, her shoulders shaken with quiet sobs at the memories she had to recall to show Squall. He placed both his hands on her shoulders and gently clenched them.

"He's going to disappear?" he asked in a low tone as though he absolutely needed to confirm this, unable to believe it himself.

"Yes…" she said with a nod.

"Is there… anything…?" he started pretty sure she already went through that herself.

She shook her head.

"He's a dream of the fayth… if the fayth are awakened and they stop dreaming… I wanted to try and make him real, but I have no idea how to do that!"

Squall pulled her close to him once again and held her in his arms, trying to send comforting waves at her, shutting his eyes tightly to focus on the link.

"You can't expect to be able to change everything, Carole… You may be a sorceress, you're still human."

He placed a hand under her chin and pulled it up to look inside her wet eyes.

"And you are really a great human. More than many I've come across in my life. You put others' well-being before your own and that's noble, but it's also dangerous. You brought Kerry back to life, that's no small feat. It was nothing short of a miracle, but you almost died in the process. Just don't overdo it, okay?"

Carole chuckled at the words.

"Tidus said the same thing," she explained before he would ask what was funny.

"There, you see? And he's the one who's going to disappear."

She nodded, knowing he was right. Knowing they were both right.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" she asked him.

"Of course. We want everyone to be able to focus on the fight and not on what will happen once it's over."

"Exactly."

Squall got up and reached his hand out to Carole. When she grabbed his hand, he pulled her to her feet in a swift pull.

"Let's not make the others wait any longer," he advised. "You should grab a bite while you still can."

"I'll try," she agreed with a light nodding gesture.

Moments later, everyone had once again gathered on the bridge. Once he saw that everyone was there, Cid faced them.

"Well, kids, the main gun is still busted!" he told them in an apologizing tone. "We can't give you any cover fire!"

"Hey, just take us in," Tidus demanded, waving it off. "We'll do the rest."

He turned his head to Lulu and she nodded at him. Then he looked at Rikku seated at the front of the airship and she smiled at him. Wakka raised a hand in the air to show he was ready. When some of the SeeDs gave him a thumb up and others a smile, Tidus could not help but smile as well at the sight.

"All right," Cid said walking around the globe to the pilot seat where Brother sat. "Take us up, flush to the mouth! No mistakes, or I'm gonna tear out that mop you call hair!"

His head turned as far back as he could from his seat, Brother nodded repeatedly while some people were burying laughs behind their palm.

"Trust… me. Me… take you there. No problem… ya?" he managed to pronounce.

"Let's get ready to blitz!" Tidus exclaimed, putting both hands on his hips.

Lulu came closer to him.

"Let's go. Just you and me."

Tidus scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed while others chuckled at him.

"Don't count us out just yet," Zell objected.

Everyone nodded and Tidus preceded them up to the deck. Once again, they had to split to ride the elevator up. As they rode it up, the SeeDs became restless.

"I can't believe this is it!" Selphie exclaimed, readying her giant nunchaku.

"It's not over yet," Squall reminded her, keeping his everlasting cool. "We still have to get in there and defeat Yu Yevon so Sin never comes back again."

"And then we can go home!" Zell exclaimed.

When Squall felt Carole's trembling hand grab his and squeeze it nervously, he frowned towards Zell but before he could scold him for his lack of tact, Quistis beat him to it.

"Zell, that was not nice. Yes, we're going home, but…"

Even she seemed to be at a loss for words.

"We'll be leaving friends behind," Rinoa explained in her place.

"Oh yeah…" Zell said in a low sorry voice, lowering his head and scratching the back nervously.

"But we'll leave them in a peaceful new world they will be able to rebuild to their liking without being afraid to see every building come crashing down every now and then," Seifer pointed out.

That seemed to put the cheer back on their faces along with determination. Putting on their serious combat faces, the SeeDs emerged on the deck right behind Yuna and the others. Squall gave Carole's hand a comforting squeeze he hoped would give her the strength to get through this ordeal before he let go of her hand to grab his gunblade. She followed his example and the others all took their weapons out as well.

Everyone scattered across the deck, looking around, over the edge. They easily spotted the enormous form of Sin on top of Bevelle, as a predator. When it noticed the airship, it took off and started hovering in front of it, its long tail waving under it.

"Here we go!" Cid's voice exclaimed in the speakers.

"Yeah!" Tidus agreed. "I'm coming for ya, Dad!"

The ship was shaking dangerously, as though it was threatening to fall into pieces. Most crouched down or simply spread their legs, slightly crouching to keep their balance as the airship was drawn towards Sin slowly. It was not within melee range yet, so the shooters took over for the time being. The others were clearly restless, but still stood prepared and ready. After all, they were facing Spira's greatest enemy.

"I've been saving it just for this… Clear out!" Irvine called.

Everyone turned to him, wondering what he was preparing. He looked at Squall and showed him a handful of bullets he took out of his pocket. Winking at him, he started loading his gun with them. Figuring his friend's plan, Squall waved his arm out and every SeeD moved to the side, leaving a clear line of fire between Irvine and the head of Sin, slowly closing in on the airship.

Irvine secured his footing on the surface of the ship and pointed his gun, aimed and shot. A large trail of light shot forth from Exeter's muzzle, accompanied with a loud bang followed by a wheezing sound. When the blast hit Sin, it exploded with violent shockwaves. Irvine shot another time. And another. And another. He shot this blast of light six times before he dropped to a knee, breathing heavily. The shot was powerful and had quite a strong recoil effect. Hyper Shot put a lot of strain on his body, but the range was incredible and the damage could not be overlooked.

Selphie hurried to Irvine's side once he went down and everyone else cheered at him while taking their positions again.

"Irvy, I didn't know you were ready to use your limit break!" Selphie exclaimed in a scolding tone.

"Hehe, yeah well... I didn't have that many pulse ammos on me anyway. Figured this was as good a time to use 'em as any. I'm alright Sefie."

He pushed himself off the ground and got up. Squall nodded approvingly at him.

"Nice one, there."

"Just doing my job," Irvine assured, tipping his hat.

"Uh huh… I remember the last time you were supposed to do your job," Squall recalled with a smirk on his face.

"Aw come on, I did it in the end, didn't I?"

"Hey guys!" Tidus called from the front, holding his sword in his hand. "Sin's getting closer!"

"I believe we are the ones getting closer," Lulu corrected.

The airship was still getting drawn towards Sin, shaking dangerously in the process. Trying not to lose their balance due to the shaking, the range fighters did their best to deliver damage as long as Sin was not within range of the melee fighters. Yet Sin was not shaken by the insects.

"Ugh! Magic does not seem to have much of an effect on its shell!" Lulu pointed out.

"We'll see about that…" Carole whispered.

Gunblade in hand, Squall spun around just in the nick of time to watch her take off, her eyes now a burning red. She climbed a few feet in the air, above everyone's heads and started casting.

"Ultima!"

The fighters were not sure whether to watch her reaction, or check on Sin to see if the spell did any apparent damage. If it did anything at all, it was not showing. The ship was still being drawn closer to Sin.

Almost everyone had their eyes back on Sin except Squall and Kerry. The commander's eyes traced the airborne sorceress as she landed, sighing with her eyes closed. When she opened them, they were brown. Squall breathed out and nodded before turning back towards Sin. It was almost within reach.

"Get ready!" Squall advised.

The range fighters kept shooting, throwing and casting while moving to the sides to give the melee fighters some space. Impact with Sin was inevitable.

Once the tip of its "nose" was but a few inches from the surface of the ship, Tidus dashed with a war cry.

"Yaaaah!"

And he slashed Caladbolg, his new sword, across the surface of Sin's face. The impact resonated almost as though it hit rock. Tidus leapt backwards.

"Ugh, so hard!"

"Hmmph! Let me handle that," Auron cut in.

Tidus moved aside when his mentor brandished his weapon, gathering energy into it before he slashed it across Sin's face. This time the impact sound was different. A shattering sound was heard and to the trained eye, Sin's shell now looked slightly softer.

"All right!" Tidus exclaimed.

Kimahri ran in, slashing his spear upwards. Adjusting his gloves, Zell dashed to deliver a few punches of his own. As though they were one mind, the three gunblade wielders ran in, blade pointing behind them, ready for a slash and an extra blast upon impact. But before they even reached Sin, the head moved slightly and the mouth opened up. A wave of energy was released, breaking the gunbladers' advance roughly and sending everyone either to their knees or on their backs. It was not strong enough to blow anyone off the ship, but it was still painful.

The SeeD leader rose up first, making sure his closest companions were unharmed at first.

"Carole! Seifer! Are you okay?"

Seifer used his gunblade for support to push himself up.

"I'm fine. Stupid thing!" he exclaimed in an angry tone as he ran back towards Sin for a counterattack.

"I'm okay, I was just surprised," Carole assured as she got up as well, a firm grip on her weapon.

Once reassured about those two, Squall looked up and around to inquire everyone's state. Everyone went back up on their feet, visibly unharmed.

The detonation of Seifer's blast into Sin's face brought everyone's eyes back on their current target.

"Come on, this should be easy!" Adam cheered. "It's not like it can hit us! That wave was annoying, but not that big a deal!"

He shot an arrow right above Rachel's head when she went in to slash with her axe, Kerry on her tail.

"He's actually right…" Squall pointed out, frowning thoughtfully. "It's too simple…"

"H-hey! Look at Sin!" Rikku suddenly interrupted, pointing nervously towards the enemy.

The mouth started opening up a little and wind started blowing out of nowhere, like a small typhoon was forming up right in front of Sin's face.

"Oh Hyne…" Carole let out with her eyes opened wide. "It's gathering energy… nothing to do with that little blast we got earlier… It's… that attack it did that broke the land."

Selphie and Rikku yelped, others gasped. Some simply stared at Carole like they were waiting for the punch line of something that was turning out to be a very bad joke.

"You're kidding, ya?"

"Please, tell me you're kidding!" Zell begged, growing nervous.

Carole swallowed, trying to settle her dry throat, but to no avail. She shook her head.

"It's the same energy…"

"She's right," Veronique confirmed in a serious tone.

Kerry, Rikku, Yuna and Selphie looked at Sin in a discouraged way, almost convinced they were doomed.

"Hey, hey!" Tidus exclaimed. "All we have to do is to beat it before it gathers enough energy to unleash the attack! It's a matter of being the fastest!"

"Fastest, huh?" Seifer said, smirking.

He focused a moment and summoned Cerberus once again. The three-headed dog materialized on the top of the elevator and howled loudly, providing everyone with the capacity to cast two or even three spells at once. It was a little useless to the ones not using any magic, but for the SeeDs, it was a precious asset.

Squall started focusing as well, then he cast haste on Carole, Veronique and Rinoa at the same time.

"Give it hell, sorceresses," he said with a little smile.

"Whoo-hoo!" Veronique cried out as she took off and flew towards Sin faster than she ever flew.

She had special abilities, but no magic as she pointed out before. Still the effect of the haste spell was not only accelerating the casting speed, it was giving the whole body a boost, providing muscles with a greater endurance, making it possible to move and attack faster than usual. The spell would wear off quickly as well, so there was not a moment to lose.

While Veronique was busy cracking her whip on top of Sin's head like a maniac, Rinoa closed her eyes and folded herself in two when her white wings spread out of her back. She flapped them and took off to go join Veronique and cast a multitude of spells closer to Sin. Carole seemed to hesitate a moment, but not for long. She took a deep breath and determination showed on her face when she looked around.

"Anyone has any aura spells?" she asked.

Squall literally felt his heart jump in his chest when he turned a concerned look towards her. And he was not the only one.

"Why would you want an aura spell?" Audrey asked her.

"Why would anyone want an aura spell cast?" Carole asked in an impatient tone. "Come on, it's supposed to be a matter of time!"

"Yeah, but…"

"C-chan?"

A hand grabbed her arm gently, but firmly. Carole turned her determined look to Squall's concerned one.

"Are you sure? You know it doesn't have the same effect as a normal limit break…"

She nodded.

"I'm aware."

"What if… it goes wrong?" Squall asked, emphasizing on the last word.

Carole tried to keep her shuddering under control, but Squall noticed it. Figuring this would be settled between the two, Audrey and Kerry both joined with the other fighters to deliver some damage as quickly as possible.

"I'm in control now. It's my usual limit break I'm counting on, anyway."

She smiled.

"Plus, if it goes bad… you're here."

"Carole…"

A red light suddenly engulfed Carole, causing Squall to leap back a little in surprise. The sorceress seemed surprised as well, but nothing else happened except for the light. Her eyes remained the same and no wind started blowing her hair around.

"Quistis, what are you doing!?" Squall demanded in an angry tone.

Carole turned around to see Quistis lower her hand after the spell was cast. She nodded at her, confident. Carole returned a thankful smile to her and ran towards Sin. Squall was frowning angrily at his former instructor.

"Why did you do that?"

"Saved the time from a useless argument. Squall, don't let her cower in fear of her powers, she chose to take the risk. You should support her, isn't that what a knight is for as well?"

Squall sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

"I guess you're right. Sucks we have to rush, huh?"

"You can yell at me once Sin is defeated."

Her whip in hand, Quistis hurried forward. After only half a second of thinking, Squall followed her quickly, Lionheart pulsing in his hand. He knew he should have been concentrating on the enemy, but he was watching Carole. The aura spell was causing the one who had it cast on to unleash a limit break at will. But as Squall mentioned it on Mount Gagazet, the nature of the limit break can not be controlled and it puts a lot of strain on the body. A limit break is usually triggered by a rush of adrenaline once one becomes very weak, a last resort, a hidden strength lying dormant within, unleashed once everything seems lost to perhaps have another chance at victory… and survival. Forcing this power out with a spell could have some side-effects. Squall noticed Carole was still in control, she was not berserk and she was not calling on any magic. But he feared the aftermath. What if the strain on her body caused by the spell would cause her to lose control?

His grip on his gunblade tightened up as he came closer. He focused on her, on the link, hoping it would be enough to keep her conscious. Aware of his presence, she slightly turned her head his way, looking at him from the corner of her eye and she smiled at him.

She parted her legs one from the other and held her gunblade upwards. Then she closed her eyes to look for that inner strength, that inner boost she wanted. And she found it.

"Sword dance!" she called out as the usual red aura engulfed her, giving her more strength.

Now lighter on her feet thanks to the limit break, her steps were also quicker due to the haste spell still in effect. She started spinning and slashing along, her feet constantly moving, giving the impression that she really was dancing. After several slashes, all followed with blasts of energy every time the trigger was pulled, the aura vanished and she staggered a little. As fast as if he also had a haste spell in effect on him, Squall caught her before she would fall to the ground. He pulled her a little backwards while the others continued.

"Squall, I'm okay," she assured him.

He put her back on her feet and looked at her face, into her eyes. She did not blink nor flinch. After a few seconds, he seemed satisfied.

"Just don't overdo it, okay?"

She smirked.

"Why do you give advices to which you know how I will react?"

He sighed.

"Maybe because I hope someday you will actually listen."

"I do what I know I can. And if I don't know, then I try."

Turning back towards Sin's head, they noticed the mouth had opened up wider still and the energy gathered in front of it was now visible.

"We better hurry," Carole pointed out before she ran in once more, gunblade in hand.

Shots and slashes rained on Sin without a pause. Sin was no common enemy, countless attacks from everywhere at once did not shake it as much as it would another monster. It released the small energy wave once again, stopping the runners in their tracks, sending a few to the ground again.

"Alright, that's it!" Rachel exploded. "Now you pissed me off!"

A strong red life engulfed her.

"Rampage!"

The axe started glowing brightly. Jumping back to her feet, Rachel dashed Sin and unleashed a fivefold attack of continuous deadly slashes at Sin, swinging her axe over her shoulder every time. Every single slash left a trail of light behind it as though the axe was moving in slow motion while it was actually moving very fast. It was cutting clean through Sin's thick shell, even leaving cuts larger than the width of the blade, as though they were burned. After the final slash, Rachel leapt back to give room to the others.

"Nice, Sis!" Carole cheered at her younger sister. "I never saw you use that!"

Rachel was catching her breath.

"That's because I never did. Never got either mad enough or hurt enough to feel it come. Always had someone to protect me," she explained looking at Zell who also looked amazed.

"Hum… Remind me never to piss you off, then," he said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Sin's maw was getting wider and wider, and the energy it was gathering was now visible, making everyone more nervous and hesitant to attack and risk touching it. The air was getting heavier and hotter. Everyone could feel it.

"Argh, will you just die already!?" Tidus burst out as he ran to slash again.

Yuna clenched her chest in her hand.

"Oooh!" Rikku moaned in fear.

"Let's all do it together again!" Squall suggested. "All at once! Weapons, spells, let's give it everything!"

"Not much room to achieve that," Lulu stated.

"Then waves," Squall insisted. "Blades first, spells on top, shooters can attack over the heads, then the impact fighters."

Zell bounced and punched the air.

"That's me!"

"It's everyone not casting spells or having blades, Zell."

Squall looked around and everyone nodded at him. He could not help but wonder if perhaps, someday, the trust everyone placed in him would prove to be misplaced. He was used to his friends looking up to him for decisions, but Yuna, Tidus and the others as well?

He took a deep breath and grasped Lionheart.

"On three…"

Everyone tightened their grip on their respective weapon and stood ready, concentrating to strike at the right time.

"One…"

Legs parted and knees bended, ready to leap forward.

"Two…"

Blades were held upwards or sideways depending on the style of the bearer.

"Three!"

Steps echoed all across the surface of the airship when the blade wielders all dashed at the same time. They slashed in unison, shaking Sin with the amount of damage delivered. As the blades were slashing, fire, ice, thunder and water assaulted Sin as well.

"Range!" Squall called as he pulled away quickly, followed with the other blades.

Arrows, bullets and balls were shot and thrown from the back row.

"Next wave!"

The last attacks were unleashed, just as ferociously. Just because these weapons could not cut did not make them any less deadly in the expert hands of their wielders.

The airship started shaking more violently and a scream echoed in the air, forcing some to go to their knees and shield their ears. The scream was coming directly from Sin. Careful, Cid pulled the ship away to a safe distance, allowing the ones riding on the deck to witness an interesting phenomenon. Instead of the energy ball building up to wipe them all out, something that strangely resembled the pool of energy that brought all the SeeDs to Spira was materializing right in front of Sin's head. It was a lot larger, and looked immaterial.

"What the hell is that!?" Zell asked, staring with wide eyes.

"That's what we wanted to see!" Tidus answered. "A way inside!"

Cid seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because the airship headed straight for that mysterious portal. Some held their breath, nervous, while others stood ready.

The airship met no resistance whatsoever when it slowly flew through the portal, but what was awaiting the fighters on the other side was not what anyone expected at all. They ended up in an orange sky, as if the portal brought them to a completely different world. Everyone even turned to Veronique, wondering if perhaps she had anything to do with this, but she shook her hands quickly to dismiss that theory.

"Hey, don't look at me, I didn't do anything!"

"You saw this before?" Wakka inquired.

"No," she answered, shaking her head, looking at the orange sky just as surprised as everyone else. "Sin is… different. I had no way of accessing this."

Nobody knew what to expect, but they absolutely did not expect this. There were pyreflies everywhere around them, countless pyreflies giving the place a charming, yet creepy look.

The airship kept moving forward, or perhaps it was the scenery moving on top of them, nobody could tell the difference. They were all looking around in a mixture of both shock and surprise when an eerie and evil laughter started echoing in the air all around them, startling many. Kerry jumped on Carole's arm with a yelp while the others were looking around, trying to figure where that came from, but it really seemed to come from everywhere at once. At that moment, an eye of gigantic proportions opened up in the sky ahead of them with a familiar face around it. Continuing on its path, the airship flew right through it without any resistance and everything went back to normal. As normal as the inside of Sin could look, that is.

Everyone spun around to look behind them, wondering what that was, but there was no trace left of the apparition and the airship continued forward.

"The fuck was that…?" Rachel trailed off.

"That sounded and looked a little too much like Seymour," Tidus said in a low tone.

Selphie widened her eyes.

"What? He's here too?"

"He's still alive!?" Zell exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"How could he have done that?" Quistis inquired.

Tidus folded his arms and shook his head.

"I dunno… But if he's not giving up, then neither am I!"

Yuna came to his side and smiled warmly at him, nodding her head in approval.

Both turned around to look ahead of them and noticed the airship was going lower, getting ready to land. There was a somewhat solid looking spot that appeared safe enough for landing. The orange sky was gone, replaced by dull and grey scenery. The "ground" was covered in a thick mist.

"Let's return inside," Auron advised as he headed for the elevator.

Everyone followed him, splitting in two groups to ride the elevator down again. Yuna and her guardians first, the SeeDs and their companions next.

"Good job, everyone," Squall commented. "I'll see if the place is safe enough for us to get some rest before we disembark."

"That'd be nice," Rachel said as she stretched herself a little.

"The rush is wearing off, huh?" Carole asked her with a smile on her face.

"It always does, this sucks…"

Carole rubbed the back of her neck.

"I'm a little sore too. The haste spell plus the aura spell and the forced limit break…"

"I warned you about that," Squall interrupted. "Which reminds me…"

He turned to Quistis while the others got off the elevator and headed inside the ship. Carole turned around to wait for him, but he dismissed her.

"Go ahead, I'll be right there."

His tone was betraying authority and she figured he was not "her" Squall at that moment. He was the Commander. She nodded and went ahead with Kerry.

"Are you hungry, K-chan?"

"Yes, and I'm tired too…"

"Let's go grab a bite and get some rest, if possible."

Kerry nodded and the two disappeared from Squall's view. He turned around to Quistis with a fist to his hip, sighing. Quistis was not looking nervous one bit. She waited.

"Look, Quistis... I understand why you did what you did, but you went against me on that one."

"You're not objective when it comes to Carole, Squall. You've been with a sorceress before, and you were not that protective."

Squall opened his mouth to object, but Quistis raised a hand and he closed it up. Even though he was the leader of SeeD, he still looked up to her as a mentor.

"Yes, you were protective, but not that much because being a sorceress was not that troublesome for Rinoa. I'm aware it's more complicated for Carole and I have no doubt that it is for you too."

Her tone was soft and comforting. Squall's shoulders dropped and he sighed.

"Yes, it's more complicated," he acknowledged as he rubbed his nose ark. "When she tries to hide her feelings or her fears, I seem to feel them even more, like they flow into me to compensate. I'm just getting used to it, now."

He shook his head, realising he drifted from the subject.

"But my point is, I'm supposed to be the leader and I objected to Carole having an aura spell cast on her and you disregarded that."

"Yes, and I'm sorry for disobeying. But do you really think smothering her and over-protecting her will be better for her?"

Squall allowed half a smile to show on his face.

"No, you're right."

"She wanted to take this risk, she was ready for it. Don't let her cower in fear, as I said earlier. She is a sorceress and no one can change that, now. She wanted to hide and you didn't let her, that's good. But if she wants to try moving forward, don't stop her, let her go."

Once again, Squall sighed. He was beaten.

"That's why I like having you around, Quistis. I know I can count on you to set me straight."

Touched, Quistis got closer and gave Squall a little hug.

"That's what a big sister is for, Squall."

Smiling, Squall nodded, hugging her back.

"Thank you."

Letting go of him, Quistis started walking down the hall.

"Now you go get some food inside you, then you rest. We made it inside, I believe the toughest part is done now, but that doesn't mean we can take it easy."

"Right. You go rest too."

She saluted.

"Yes, sir."

The two SeeDs made their way through the ship, to their waiting companions. Soon they would be ready to move once again. After some food and rest, they would disembark and search for Yu Yevon in order to bring an end to Spira's endless cycle of suffering.

_A/N: I apologize for the wait, this chapter gave me some troubles. This part in the game is very short and easy with the final weapons, but I want to get "outside" of the game and make it look like it's tougher. This story is almost over, and I'm looking forward __to finishing it. I'm running out of original ideas for the fights, hehe. Thanks for sticking to me despite my slow updates. Remember, though: I WILL finish it. I hate to leave things unfinished._


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